If You Fall, I Will Catch You
by Kisara Strife
Summary: Sequel to Time After Time. Jazira is seventeen and the heir to the modern Egyptian throne, but with the threat of the Aralanti still hanging and countless boys requesting her hand in marriage...how is Seto coping? Is Kisara watching over as promised?
1. Jazira Kaiba

**Author's Note;** Thanks to everyone who read "Time After Time" and made it the success it was, you guys have no idea how much all those reviews meant to me! This is the first chapter and contains a little reflecting upon the primary fic, so it probably runs a bit lengthy, sorry bout that! I hope you like this, the sequel and plees review ppls!!

* * *

"Ms. Kaiba!"

"Over here!"

Light bulbs flashed and the paparazzi forcefully pushed close to the barriers as Roland and a few more shade-wearing men in suits closed in around the girl, whom was the centre of attention. Through a gap in her formidable entourage, a photographer glimpsed the female and pressed the button of his camera…the shutter clicked and the moment was captured forever. The papers would pay huge bucks for this snap; it was of the teenager smiling her trademark captivating smile. Over the last couple of months, people world-wide had become well-accustomed to this young face as her name was echoed throughout every home on Earth; Jazira Kaiba. Now aged seventeen, the girl was known for her parentage; daughter of single-father, Seto Kaiba, and for her ferocity within the corporal world, amongst other aspects, too many to list.

Though everyone else sighed and cursed with frustration as Jazira and her numerous bodyguards disappeared into the KaibaCorp building, the one photographer who had gotten what he came for was already half-way home on his way to develop his photos and sell to the highest bidder, smirking happily to himself. The various newspapers throughout Domino had become adamant about having pics of the girl, as, due to her father's protectiveness, images were extremely hard to come by, and also because of her trait to draw peoples' eyes to the front page, if she were on it… Jazira was an attractive teenager; being half Japanese and half Egyptian, with tanned skin inherited from her mother, her father's brown hair and ocean-deep blue eyes…she wasn't one of the luxuriously beautiful, stick-thin, gaunt, anorexic and plastic females that littered the A-list nowadays, as was the norm amongst some other famous teens within the business world. No…she may not be the Barbie-doll false and super-model beautiful girl others her age were, but the teenager had the rare and sought-after "cute" factor; when she smiled, she just lit up the room, and that was one of the biggest reasons her picture was so coveted amidst the journalistic world.

* * *

"Thanks guys…"

Jazira Kaiba smirked gratefully as the numerous men ushered her inside her father's building, out of the vulture-like range of the paparazzi and anyone else who would try to get a cheap shot in…be it with a camera or utter of an Egyptian word; what a relief…

"Don't worry…your father's up in his office."

That was Roland whom was speaking to her; over the years he had acted as a sort of uncle to her, being her father's most trusted employee and always assigned to her guarding team. The teenager nodded and turned around, only to have a toddler run up to her.

"Hi Noah!"

She bent and picked up her young cousin, only three years of age, and raised him up into her arms, laughing.

"Where's your Daddy, huh?"

The little boy shrugged and shook his ebony head, blue eyes alight. She, too, shook her head and walked for the elevator, carrying the toddler. Noah looked a lot like his dad, Mokuba, except for his blue eyes, which were inherited from his mother; Rebecca Kaiba, nay Hawkins, who'd married into the Kaiba family when she was twenty. As she leaned against the wall of the now- ascending elevator, Jazira studied herself in the mirrored wall opposite; she looked tired, probably because she was…then her blue eyes fell upon the tattoo on her left bicep, the overly-familiar clan symbol, though this version had a line ripping diagonally through it……… Jazira was aware of her heritage and of how her mother had died, and she wanted to express her Egyptian roots, not overlook them…she felt proud of her heritage amidst the ancient culture; so when she was fourteen she decided to get the tattoo, though her father had adamantly refused, it'd been her uncles, Saheed and Daknar who had secretly brought her to get it done; the duo were happy of her decision, and just delighted in riling Seto whenever they could… Though, the twin duo had received an unmerciful going-over from her Dad and from their older brother, Denian, afterwards but by then the tattoo had been injected into her skin and she was branded, just like her mother before her… Though in actuality, Denian and his brothers were really her second cousins, they had always been referred to as her uncles, and she had to admit, it'd been easier when they'd begun to have children; that would have been _way_ too many cousins!

Although similar to the Aralanti tattoo in many aspects, the main symbol being identical, the group that had broken away over seventeen years ago now, had distanced themselves from the majority of the clan, wanting nothing to do with their obsession to resurrect the Dark One…as a result, a blood feud had been raging for her lifetime, between the Aralanti and their group; the Marthui. Named after the ancient form of magic that could kill a person with one word, the renegade gang was headed by the only assassin to have ever mastered the actual magic; Denian Hirotsh, and was dedicated to protecting Jazira and foiling their main family's plots to bring about the rebirth of the Dark One…the only way to differentiate a Marthui from an Aralanti was their tattoos, although almost identical, the Marthui had a noticeable black line running diagonally through the symbol, illustrating that they had broken away all those years ago.

* * *

"Emmm, Jazira…are you okay?"

One of the young interns, Stacie, waved a hand in front of the teenager's eyes, snapping the kid back to reality. Jazira smirked and laughed lightly as she walked out of the lift, Noah still in her arms.

"Sorry bout that; my head's not with me!"

Stacie laughed aswell; Jazira was a likeable person, upon first securing a job in KaibaCorp, she had called her by "Ms. Kaiba", but the girl had frowned and insisted upon being called by her first name, stating her title made her feel old and that she wasn't as boring as her father…not quite yet anyhow…

"Guess who I found in the main lobby?"

Mokuba looked around as his niece walked up the corridor towards him, smirking as Noah was placed on the floor and ran to his father, laughing.

"Thanks, Jazira; I owe you…"

"Yeah, you know you do…"

As he smiled and picked up his young son, Mokuba looked to his niece, remembering what his brother had told him a while ago.

"Your Dad's looking for you; he's in the conference room; they've just finished talking in there."

"Does he want me now?"

"Mmmm hmmm, I think so, look; I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

She nodded as her uncle walked away, down the corridor with his son. Jazira then let her feet lead her subconsciously to the main conference room of the skyscraper. She knocked gently on the door and pushed it open, intruding upon some class of meeting between various high-profile CEOs, in preparation for the annual CEO summit that was hastily upcoming; KaibaCorp would be hosting it this year. With as good as manners as ever, she smiled politely.

"Excuse me; I wasn't aware a meeting was in progress."

Seto hid a smirk as his daughter stated this in an innocent and benevolent voice; they should seriously see her in a bad mood; Saheed and Daknar had successfully taught her as many curses as they could…and now she was as skilled at swearing as her mother had been…not fun…He then gestured to an empty seat.

"It's okay, I wanted you here."

The teen nodded and walked to the seat, sitting down; she was accustomed to being invited to corporal meetings, as her Dad was merely preparing her for the day she took over the company's helm. The eyes of the other men followed her, mildly interested in the girl; now that she was seventeen, by her Egyptian heritage, she could now be found a suitor to be wed to…but that was something Seto Kaiba would not allow to happen easily. The men studied her for a second or two, each silently wishing for their own son to be that suitor; Jazira Kaiba was an excellent business woman for her tender years, attractive and her being the heir to the KaibaCorp business and family wealth would surely bode well for the lad's family. Maxamillion Pegasus raised his head and spoke first.

"You have bloomed since I last saw you, Jazira."

Though he had no sons, Pegasus did have three nephews who stood as the heirs to his own company; Industrial Illusions, and would only delight in having Kaiba-Boy's daughter wed into his family. Though stated as a deliberately awkward sentence, Pegasus's remark was true; the last time he'd seen the child, she had been fifteen, and in those two short years, she had grown much more mature and desirable. Though her first reaction was to cry "Aralanti!" and have her bodyguards, Tombkeepers and Marthui swoop and annihilate the annoying man, Jazira merely smiled politely and returned her attention to the business jargon that was now flying every which way, listening and comprehending, then throwing some of her own ideas out there aswell, amazing some of the men as she came up with idealistic and genius new notions, whilst her father smiled proudly. Jazira had been a handful alright, but he wouldn't have it any other way…though it did bring a stab of remembrance when she had first summoned her Ka………

The child had been eight years old and there had been an open demonstration in Domino's main square to show off KaibaCorp's newest holograph software and, as always, Seto had been keeping his daughter close, knowing that the Aralanti wouldn't pass up the opportunity to abduct the girl, even with the numerous Tombkeepers and Marthui amongst the crowd and atop buildings. It had been Christmas Eve and, with a full moon winking down upon the snow-dusted city, civilians in their hats and scarves had packed the square, wanting to get a glimpse of this reputedly milestone technology. All that evening, the eight-year-old girl had been complaining of not feeling well and a slight pain in her head, but, prior to the preparations of the event, nobody had thought to look up young Jazira's heritage, not even her uncle Denian, who also served as her godfather and was usually up-to-date on his facts.…

As the bell had tolled midnight, a savage wind had ripped through the square, growing and growing to an astounding ferocity until, at last, it had abruptly ceased…but only those upon the stage, namely her father, Denian, Mokuba, Roland and a couple more Tombkeepers had seen the light purple glow that had emanated from Jazira's body and, upon her opening her normally blue eyes, they too had shone with the same hue until the energy had burst forth from her and formed into her Ka………it had astounded even Denian to see the strength of the child's soul; for it to be harbouring the revered Cyber Twin Dragon…the monster's strength was only a minuscule amount behind that of her mother's, the Blue Eyes White Dragon…it had taken quick-thinking for Mokuba to come up with the excuse that the appearance of the monster was as a result of their new, ultra-realistic virtual reality apparatus…

* * *

"Vhere iz Doujarent today?"

Seto was jolted back to his senses as Zigfried Von Schroder queried this; he hated that pink-haired prick, but he couldn't avoid him being here; the man was also a big-profile CEO and was invited to the summit. It annoyed him that this rival was asking for one of his closest associates; Jerohn Doujarent. The middle-aged man, from Bordeaux in France had forged a strong acquaintance with KaibaCorp, and unlike with most of his business partners, Seto and he had become good friends in real life aswell. Taking the initiative, the teenage girl spoke.

"He's been in contact, Schroder, and he's been held up in Paris. Arrival is expected tomorrow at the latest."

As Jazira answered on behalf of her father, who would have probably insulted the German, Seto smirked, noticing the way his daughter seemed capable of taking charge of any situation…she was so much like her mother in those aspects.

_I wish you could see her now, Kisara_…

**a/n- did u like the first chapter of this fic? D'you think it's an okay continuation sor far-plees tell me, cos I'll fix it if you guys aren't happy with it! XxxxxxX**


	2. Home, prisoned home

**Author's Note;** So sorry for the long wait ppls...a mixture of other fics, being sick, and school kinda buried me for a while, but I'm back!!!! With chappie 2!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX Thanks to all those who reviewd the first chapter- it really does mean a lot!!!!!

* * *

"So, who's coming where?"

Now that was more like the real Jazira; head like a sieve! Seto couldn't help but smirk at her confused face later that night when they were back at home in the living room of the mansion.

"Jerohn and his son are arriving tomorrow night and will be at the formal…"

"Oh yeah…the _formal_…"

The teenager groaned as she remembered the posh get-together that was due tomorrow night; she hated these high profile gigs…they just made too much hype for her liking. And another thing she despised was the fact that all the CEOs attending this year were bringing with them the heirs to their companies; their eldest children…or three nephews as in the case of Pegasus, and the rest just _had_ to be boys, didn't they? Would it kill someone else to throw a girl, huh?

"What's with the tone?"

Mokuba entered, having been running through some Egyptian political issues with Ishizu and the current Prime Minister for the country, and looked inquisitively to his niece.

"Me in a posh, expensive dress just means more guys hitting on me and trying to get me to marry them…"

The raven-haired man laughed, knowing this statement to be true; in the last three months, since she'd turned seventeen, KaibaCorp and the Kaiba family's postal boxes had been inundated with requests for Jazira's hand in marriage…some from very high-up families in Egypt, others in Europe and all over the world really, though she had yet to give any of them a try, but how could she? All lads across the planet new of her Egyptian heritage and that she was eligible to be proposed to, they knew of her father's identity, her family's wealth and of her right to the company empire…how can a girl give a young fella a fair try when he knows so much about her and be biased to go with her purely for her name…and none of them knew of her other family's past…of the link the Hirotsh name bore to the now low-lying Aralanti.

"Awww…she's scared she'll get a boyfriend!"

At the sound of that voice, Jazira broke out into a smile as Seto groaned instead. The teenager then spun as a dark portal opened and one of her identical "uncles" (I'm just gonna call them that from here, kay?) walked out of the black misty window.

"Saheed!"

Just like her mother, Jazira was capable of telling the difference between Daknar and Saheed, never becoming confused or mixed up. She hugged her uncle, who hugged her back, smirking…in the last couple of years it had really become evident to see Saheed settling down, whilst Daknar remained just as curse-full, smart, cheeky and as much of an expert swear-user as he had been when younger.

"How's Dahrej?"

"He's good, Herani says hi."

Herani was his wife, since the age of eighteen, as was common practice within the clan, though she had been among the members that broke away under Bakura's harsh ruling…she had actually been abducted and chosen to be the white-haired man's wife…but Denian had seen that plan end, having rescued his brother's fiancée single-handedly while the twins were saying hi to Seto. Out of gratitude, Herani and Saheed Hirotsh had named their young, one-year-old son "Dahrej", after Denian's child with his first wife…the child that had been stillborn upon birth, his mother dying only a fortnight later…

"Denian said they had to up the strength of the spells tonight; some of them tried to get through after the limo earlier."

Jazira nodded; she'd felt the familiar sensation of being enclosed as their elongated stretch limo had entered the grounds of her family home; that was the protective spells that had been in place since before her birth, to protect her, and her mother from the assaulting Aralanti members…now a constant stream of Marthui and Tombkeepers patrolled the perimeter of the fenced grounds, bolstering the spells and deterring any brave assassins. It was annoying though; she could walk around the grounds and elaborate gardens to her heart's content, but as soon as she went beyond those imposing wrought-iron fences, Jazira was a target for every Aralanti member…it was frustrating, for within the numerous miles of gardens and expansive grounds that the large mansion hosted, she still felt a prisoner.

"How's Daknar?"

Mokuba asked this as Noah drifted off to sleep on the sofa; the raven-haired young man had taken a liking to the twins and, whilst Jazira had been growing up, he and the duo had hung out together and joked around…but then he'd started going out with Rebecca…Saheed had moved to Egypt with Herani…then Daknar, somewhat unwillingly, had also moved to his homeland and started a family with his own wife, Kayreena.

"He's fine…I heard the twins are giving him a hard time though…"

At this, Seto smirked smugly; he and Daknar had never really seen eye to eye, though the hostilities were normally vented via some exchanging of snide comments and cheeky remarks…but it had thoroughly delighted him to hear that Daknar's wife had given birth to identical twin boys…now five years of age, the grown, yet still cheeky, Daknar would receive a taste of his own medicine. Jazira smiled as she remembered the last time she'd seen her little cousins; they'd been a mere three years of age back then, and she was only dying to see them again.

"He should come over sometime…"

"No, he shouldn't!"

Seto looked up and shook his head immediately, knowing how much damage and broken objects Daknar and his spawn would cause if given the run of the Kaiba Mansion…

"He'll be offended at that, Kaiba."

At the sound of the familiar female voice, Jazira looked over her shoulder from where she sat on the back of an armchair, legs swinging.

"Hi Ishizu."

The Egyptian woman smiled kindly at her husband's goddaughter. It had been a long road, but she and Denian had married when Jazira had been six, and she wouldn't have things any other way; he was still hard to approach about some things, but Denian had turned out to be a great husband and an excellent father to their two sons; Jacob and Kirin.

"Hello...there's your future-husband now, Jazira!"

Mokuba smiled as he said this, whilst grabbing the remote control to the huge television and turning up the volume. The teen looked to what he was on about and laughed as the headline "_The Perfect Man_" scrolled across the news station, whilst the newswoman spoke to the screen.

"Antoine Doujarent turns nineteen today and is ear-marked to be a corporal prodigy amidst the high-tech businesses of the world...his corporate skills are rumoured to be as good as, if not better, than those of young Jazira Kaiba, seventeen-year-old daughter of his father's closest friend and associate, Seto Kaiba. Master Doujarent has today been voted 'The Perfect Man' by girls across the world, via a poll on the website, Bebo..."

"Tch! Well, I'll tell you now; I didn't fucking vote-_oww_!"

Jazira winced as her father reflexively slapped her lightly across the back of the head, then she grinned at the amount of foul swears that had just crossed her mind; Saheed and Daknar had taught her well.

"No cursing!"

"C'mon Dad...'The Perfect Man'? The last time I saw Antoine Doujarent, he was fifteen and a scrawny beggar; there's no way a young fella can go from scrawny to _perfect_ in the space of four years!"

Jazira smirked as she said this; they'd find out just how perfect the lad was tomorrow night…as for now, she had some serious slagging to do with Saheed; the wiry uncle would have plenty of ammo ready for a swearing-match………oh, she had been trained well!

**a/n- did u like dis chptr????? Huh, huh, huh, huh??? Tell me what ye thinks ppls!!**


	3. The Formal Begins

**Author's Note;** I am _SO_ sorry for the wait ppls; school aswell as my cousin staying at my house the entire week kinda stopped me and then I hit a brick wall with another fic and got in a bad mood about it, lol!! C yas!! XxxxxxxxxX

* * *

The same thing was on every channel; CEOs arriving in Domino for the summit, it was the same year after year…though there seemed to be a lot more hype about this one. Night had fallen by the time the limo pulled up at the KaibaCorp building where this whole thing was taking place…unbeknownst to anyone except her own family; many the renegade assassins and Tombkeepers were now training a tight surveillance on her from all angles so as to prevent any Aralanti attempting to harm her.

Throngs of people pushed closer as the intensity of the crowd tripled, light bulbs flashing in all directions as Jazira made her way up the crimson carpet towards the door of the skyscraper, finally making it through after a good five minutes of walking and feeling immeasurable relief as the doors closed behind her and she located her uncle's frame a few feet away. Mokuba smirked as his little niece glided in the door…long hazel tresses pinned up and a long, shimmering silver dress with a large silver-metal belt constricting the middle. (Like Leona Lewis in the video of "Bleeding Love")

Jazira smiled and laughed as Yaroshi and Harasha raced over towards her. The two seven-year-old girls were identical twins from China, who were her adoptive-cousins. When Mokuba and Rebecca had first gotten married, the press coverage was truly immense as everyone wanted to know what would become of the younger Kaiba brother…so, the newly-weds had seen the coverage as a way to lead by example; they flew to China and adopted the twins from a dilapidated orphanage, causing quite the stir…but it had been heart-warming to see such a well-off family taking it upon themselves to do such an admirable thing.

Yaroshi and Harasha had been the first pregnancy for their biological parents, who had abandoned them at the orphanage a few days after their birth; but due to the population explosion in China, the limit per family was two children and, by giving up these two, the young couple still had the chance to have a son, possibly even two to carry on the family lineage and name. Without Mokuba and Rebecca, the two adorable little girls, with their waist-length deep-chocolate tresses and shining hazel eyes, would have been sentenced to many years in the horrible orphanage…a fate that was all too familiar to Mokuba.

* * *

All heads snapped around as she walked towards the centre of the room, where the majority of the CEOs were already congregated, along with their heirs…their children.

"You got here okay then?"

"Yes Daddy…I'm fine."

Seto half-laughed as the girl flashed a smile and rolled her sapphire eyes up to heaven in a deliberately exaggerative fashion, knowing her to be chastising him for worrying so much.

"Good…by the way; your friend's here, Rebecca sent her an invite because she knew you'd be bored."

Jazira looked over her shoulder to where her smirking father was indicating; a girl stood over by one of the tables, smiling widely as she locked gazes with the heir to the Kaiba fortune, her best friend.

"Tsara!"

"Hahaha, you think I'd miss out on _this_!?"

The girl hugged her as she said it, not having seen Jazira in over two months, due to her living with her father in Nagasaki during the summer holidays, attending school and living with her mother in Domino for the school year and returning to Nagasaki for her all of her school holidays; Jazira never had to worry about school as it had been too dangerous to enrol her when small, but she had been home-schooled all her life by the KaibaCorp tutors and now possessed an unsurpassed intelligence of someone much older than her tender years…being fluent in countless languages also.

As they pulled away from each other, Jazira ran her blue gaze over her best pal; Tsara Kuragatsu was a Ganguro girl; she wore deep fake tan, her naturally black hair was dyed a greyish-blond and her normal tomboyish clothes were of bright colours. Ganguro was a fad that had exploded in popularity a couple of years ago and was now a common sight throughout all of Japan; it was highly unusual to traverse on the sub without spotting one or two young Japanese girls sporting the obvious trademarks of the style. As the deeply tanned skin directly conflicted with the traditional Japanese figment of beauty, pale skin and dark hair, the Ganguro girls were often portrayed negatively in the media…yet the style still continued to grow in popularity, especially when the press had revealed Jazira Kaiba's best friend to be an avid Ganguro gal.

"When did you get back to Domino?"

Tsara idly flicked back her long tresses as she answered Jazira's question with a naturally cheeky wink and a flash of her infectious smirk whilst laughter played within her hazel irises.

"About last night, but I couldn't get in contact with you cos of Denian and the Mart…"

The other seventeen-year-old trailed off as she realized how loud she had been talking, then continued on in a low whisper as she explained why she'd been unable to say hi to her friend the night before.

"Denian and the Marthui were guarding pretty heavy when Mom passed by and the Tombkeepers were on the outskirts of the ground aswell."

Jazira nodded her head, not at all shocked that Tsara knew so much; her mother, Toshi Kuragatsu, was the head of KaibaCorp's Research team and, somewhere over the years, she had become aware of the excess time the CEO of the company was spending in Egypt and had questioned it in the yearly budget of the monopolising company…coming to learn of Seto and Mokuba's link to the ancient country and Jazira's birthright, of the raging war that surrounded the young secret princess of Egypt…and of the truth of her mother's death; Toshi had proved herself trustworthy when she hadn't even told her daughter, Jazira's best friend, of the many hidden truths that surrounded the daughter of Seto Kaiba; Jazira had told her all of them herself about two years ago now and they'd been the closest of friends ever since, with Tsara not even contemplating about leaking the secret of the ancient bloodline or of the masses that constantly guarded her friend with watchful and protective gazes. With a knowing smirk, Tsara linked arms with her friend and they began walking.

"So…I saw the news last night; when's he coming?"

"Who?"

"Jazira, for someone supposed to be smart you can be pretty dense, y'know! When's the _perfect_ man arriving?"

"Oh, Antoine…him and his Dad should here pretty soon…and they'll be staying at the mansion for a while as their newest branch is set up in Domino…Dad offered them to stay cos it was easier than paying hotels and I think he'd like someone to talk to; the highlight so far was Saheed last night!"

The two young women were interrupted as a young man appeared and cut in on their conversation, flashing his purple-hued irises over the heir to KaibaCorp as he spoke in a very heavy German accented voice.

"Miz Kaiba, vud you allow me ze honour of introducing myself?"

With a slightly exasperated widening of her eyes, Jazira threw a furtive glance to Tsara, who stifled a giggle as she ran a gaze up and down this young man, with the fore of the two answering the question that'd been asked of her.

"I don't think there's a need, Schroder…"

As the night progressed, the number of people within the hall grew and grew until everyone had arrived and the congregation was in full swing, with both adults and the youthful heirs to their fortunes mingling amidst each other. Tsara had been whipped away about an hour ago by some handsome young man from the Republic of Ireland and she was now quite content to speak and dance with him… As she stood from making polite talk with the CEO of an Italian based Microchip Company, Jazira became aware of someone standing behind her, elegantly turning around to see three young men standing there; each sporting the light hair and brown eyes of the Pegasus family…

* * *

"Late…but here nonetheless…"

Seto turned as the obviously-accented French voice called to him jovially, and smirked slightly as his cobalt gaze found the man that'd been a saviour during the aftermath of Kisara's death; Jerohn Doujarent. During the weeks and months after his girlfriend's untimely death, KaibaCorp had been thrust into stock crisis as the market values had plummeted to an all-time low, but the Doujarent Inc. had coincided with the Japanese technological company and KaibaCorp had seemingly risen from her ashes once more as the prices had soared to profitable sums…resulting in a friendship being forged between the two CEOs of the said companies…a friendship that had lasted the last seventeen years and had spanned many the coalition project between them.

"Couldn't be much later than Pegasus' three idiots…speaking of them…"

The father had only now spotted his well-coveted daughter surrounded by the three young men, trying her hardest to extract herself from their badgering, yet failing in doing so as they carried on to try and chat her up, cornering the teenager. Seto cringed as he saw annoyance flash in Jazira's irises; if those three didn't leave her alone she'd floor them! Jerohn, who was a tall-enough man with hazel hair and kindly brown eyes, also looked to where the girl was now thinning in patience.

"Is that young Jazira?"

"Yeah…she'll kill them…"

The CEO of KaibaCorp groaned this as one of Pegasus' nephews attempted to chide Jazira into dancing with him, resulting in her snapping her elbow away from him with hostile force and shooting the lad a hateful glare as she did so. The Frenchman looked over his shoulder and spoke to his son.

"Go over and relieve that poor young lady of those three."

* * *

"C'mon, Jazira…just one dance?"

As the eldest of the Pegasus' three nephews pulled her closer to him by the arms, Jazira felt something snap and found herself snapping her arm away and stomping down on his toe with a stiletto, hissing angrily in his ear.

"Come near me again and you'll find that shoe buried between your legs…heel first!"

As the youth with his light sandy hair and hazel eyes made to answer her back, whilst putting most his weight on one foot, he was cut off by a new voice.

"I think that's a hint to get lost, Pegasus."

Jazira turned and was about to tell this lad to get lost too, but her breath caught in her throat as she stared up at the young man who was now standing behind her and smirking handsomely; as tall as her father, with dark hazel hair and sharp grey eyes…toned and muscled physique…and the very end of a couple of tattoos were glimpsed beneath the collar of his shirt, with one working up the right side of his neck and behind before it dipped below the line of his collar once more…wow, she guessed maybe four years _could_ change a person as she definitely recognised those piercing eyes as he glanced down at her.

"Anto?"

**a/n- did u like this chapter? Again; I am so, so sorry about the wait ppls!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	4. Anniversary

**Author's Note;** Sorry bout the wait peeps; I have this complete with about a week and have been fiddling around with it, making it a bit longer than intended, but it seems to work; the scene in the garden was never meant to be in it, but I though it wuited so I left it in!! Let me know what ye thinks!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX Hope everyone is having a good Xmas, and I wishes ye the best for the New Year!! XxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

As she spoke his name in a surprised tone, Antoine Doujarent laughed lightly and nodded his head as the eldest of the Pegasus nephews melted back into the background of the formal.

"Oh, my God! You look so different!"

Jazira looked him up and down once more just to ensure it was the same lad from four years ago…but there was no mistaking those piercing slate grey eyes as they twinkled down at her with laughter alight in their immeasurable depths. She then noticed her jaw hanging slightly open and deftly shut it and let her sapphire irises take in his appearance…still astounded that this lean young man was the scrawny youth who had spent a lot of time at her family's mansion four years ago…just a pity the young heiress wasn't a subtle person by nature.

"But…the muscles…the tattoos?"

He laughed again and stretched slightly, scratching the back of his head absently as he spoke in a happy-go-lucky sort of way…as if he'd take what came and make the most of it.

"Well I started weightlifting when I went back to France and it looks like I'm not the only one to get a tattoo, huh?"

She blushed as his eyes set upon her Marthui brand and gently covered it with her right hand as she felt the eyes of their fathers upon them, then flashed her usual smirk and looked up at the boy who'd served as the closest thing she'd had to a childhood friend besides Tsara.

"C'mon; I'm getting paranoid standing here!"

She laughed this as she sat at a vacated table and watched as the nineteen-year-old lad sat down on the second seat…four years definitely could change a person as Antoine Doujarent, or Anto as she had always called him for short, was a complete opposite to what he'd been like at the age of fifteen.

* * *

"But, your accent?"

"What are those posh people who teach you how to speak?"

As he asked this, Jazira shook her head lightly and laughed slightly at him; she could well-remember when these teachers had attempted to teach her, as a young child, to speak "properly"...but that had merely been a waste of their own time as Saheed and Daknar had undone any progress.

"Elocution lessons…you barely knew English the last time you were here."

The lad nodded, remembering the last spell he'd spent in Domino, Jazira was fluent in numerous languages, even back then, and she had had to translate a lot for him…she shouldn't need to this time round.

"I'm just glad you guys speak English cos I have no idea about Japanese; it's way too confusing…phonetic alphabet…inclusion of Chinese symbols…not one clue!"

"Don't worry, you only really need to know three Japanese words; Konichiwa, which means hello or greetings, then Sayanora, which is goodbye…and then for dealing with Pegasus and Schroder - all anyone needs to know is Kisima…"

"Why, what's that mean?"

"You don't want to know."

The two looked up at the sound of the voice and found Seto to be looking amusedly at Jazira, quite aware of what the word meant. He then trained his gaze upon his daughter, who flashed a slightly guilty smirk.

"I hope your uncles didn't teach you that one..."

The night bore on pretty enjoyably after that as Tsara made her way back over and made a point of being introduced to Anto by her friend, though quite taken to go back and dance with that lad from Ireland as Jazira merely laughed at her, only too happy for the amusement as tomorrow would most likely bring a solemn mood upon the mansion as it heralded the seventeen year anniversary of her mother's death.

* * *

"Hold it! Too many heads!"

Jazira exclaimed this the following morning as she walked down the huge staircase of her home, having seen way too many short heads run past for her to count; there shouldn't be that many…there should have been Noah, Yaroshi, Harasha, and that was all…

"Oh _crap_, does Dad know you're here?"

"Trust me, I do…"

She looked around as her father entered the sitting room, cobalt eyes shooting to a grinning Daknar as his unruly boys ran about with the other kids…she looked from the little boys, to their father and his brother, and then to Mokuba's daughters; it was way too early in the morning for this.

"We have too many twins in our family! I'm going back to bed!"

"Hold it, everyone's here for a reason…"

Denian stood in the doorway, blocking her path as Kirin and Jacob raced past, joining the throng of young children. It was only then that the seventeen-year-old noticed her father's friends were also present; Yugi and Téa Muto, Mai and Joey Wheeler, Tristan and Serenity Taylor amongst others, as were their children…she could sense that things weren't good if everyone was gathered here like this.

"Now I'm definitely going back to bed!"

But what her father spoke next was enough to halt her in her tracks and make her very blood run cold as she heard the name falling from his mouth…that had been the very last thing she'd been expecting at this early hour of the morning…but on this morning of all mornings.

"Bakura's back."

"Jazira, wait!"

Denian wasn't quick enough to stop his goddaughter/niece from pushing past him, and running from the living room…they knew she'd take it badly; they had. The Intel team of the Tombkeepers had reported unusual happenings in the old Aralanti base and a few Marthui had been sent to investigate; consisting of Daknar and Takhar…only for the duo to return beaten up and Daknar cursing to his extent as he told his older brother of what they'd seen, the aged Takhar a bit worse for wear and was now recovering at the small Tombkeeper base in the city. They certainly didn't need this right now…not on this day…

* * *

"Ms. Kaiba!"

Jazira paid no heed to the maids and chef as she raced through the kitchen, blinded by stinging tears as she ran for the back door of the huge mansion and out into the green expanse of the Kaiba Family grounds, slowing to a walk as her legs automatically led her to the site where her father had stood holding her as a tender one-month-old infant seventeen years ago to the day.

Why did things always look so much happier in frozen pictures? Her blue eyes studied the picture that was set into the white marble gravestone…her mother had been beaming widely and laughing, as had her father, when the photograph had been taken. Imagine the life she could have had if it hadn't been for Bakura's interference; would she now have not only a loving father, but also a mother aswell? Would all this blood feud not exist at all? Would the teenager still be a prisoner within her own home, her life always in jeopardy?

But there was no use in thinking and fantasizing about all this now; she was seventeen years too late to do anything about it…she had been the child that Bakura had imprisoned her mother because of…she was only the second female to be born in five thousand years…but she was no Kisara…and now it seemed as though her mother had given her life for no reason if this man actually was back.

"Mom…why did you have to go?"

The sapphire-like eyes were filled with guilt and shimmering tears as she silently watched this young woman standing by her gravestone…for seventeen years she had watched over her family and been there for every single big happening, even if she hadn't been noticed…for Mokuba and Rebecca's wedding…Tea and Yugi's…Tristan and Serenity's…Joey and Mai's; she'd always known the scruffy blond would make a great boyfriend and husband for some girl…and not to mention Ishizu and Denian's, it was about time her cousin had moved on…and then the night Jazira had first summoned her Ka…and the day Saheed and Daknar had brought her to get the Marthui tattoo…

But now her daughter was in danger and there was nothing she could do from this side of the veil; Seto really had done a great job raising her.

"_Jazira_…"

The girl blinked as she heard what she thought was a soft female voice on the gentle wind…but looked around as she heard footsteps, only then realizing she wasn't alone in the huge garden.

"Go away, Anto…"

"What's up?"

_What_'_s up_…well she couldn't exactly tell the lad that she was a secret Princess of the Egyptian throne, her father was the Pharaoh, all those people in the living room knew about magic and ancient evils and that she was standing here at nine o'clock in the morning, crying her eyes out by her dead mother's grave because the man who had killed her was said to be back…for a flashing, brief second she wondered if he'd believe her…but telling him would only place his life and his father's in danger of the Aralanti.

"She…she died, seventeen years ago today."

* * *

"I would've bet money that she'd hit him…"

Mokuba said this as he glanced out the back window of the large kitchen where they had been summoned by a maid who had told them the teenager had run through and outside, crying. Seto shook his head as he stared outside and watched as the tall figure of his friend's son had his arm around his daughter, who was crying into his chest.

"Looks like we'll have to keep an eye on them…"

As Jerohn said this, Daknar looked down and grinned as he set his trademark hues on this new person, and then looked to Kaiba and asked his question the same way he would have done seventeen years ago; nothing had changed with Daknar at all.

"How come we don't get an introduction, Rich-boy?"

Seto groaned and rolled his eyes to heaven as he walked from the kitchen, calling back over his shoulder as he did so; he really didn't need Daknar ragging on him, a bad-tempered Jazira and now he had to keep an eye on Antoine aswell…

"Jerohn, that's Daknar…he's Kisara's cousin, you'll get to know him soon enough; he doesn't shut up!"

**a/n- did u like this chappie? Sorry bout the wait again and have a great Xmas and New Year peepls!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	5. Him

**Author's Note; **Sorry bout the wait- my internet was broke, then fixed, then broke,, then fixed for three days and now brok again! And I'm being driven up the wall- my school's broadband comes in really handy at times like these!! Lol!! Let me know what ye thinks!! XxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Please, Ms. Kaiba, just one more chance…that's all we're requesting."

Jazira rolled her eyes to heaven as she heard their voices again; there were four people standing in front of her, each adorned with a white lab coat, the letters "KC" embroidered in steel grey threads on the left breast of the coats. The teenager stood from her desk and looked to the men, her own blue eyes imploring them as she spoke.

"The funding for your project was withdrawn as we cannot see the future it has to enable it to return our money…three consecutive times you've had to report back with another failed attempt and I'm sorry but we can't back a project that has no foreseeable future in modern-day Japan and for that reason your funding will not be re-initiated; KaibaCorp is not a charity."

"Ms. Kaiba I beg of you, this project is crucial to-"

"Security please!"

Her patience having been worn thin by the incessant requesting of these four men for the past hour caused the teenager to look to the closed door of her own office and she watch as the door opened and two burly guards entered, chaperoning the men out of the elaborately-large room, giving the tired teen the peace of silence as she smiled her thanks to the two men. Jazira then sat back down and, with want of a better action, began to mess around with her laptop; it was KaibaCorp's newest model and wouldn't hit the high streets for another eleven months…she clicked into her folder files of her pictures and somehow found her gaze to be resting on the woman who had constantly been on her thoughts for the last four days, ever since her father had told her.

"You seem tired…"

She started slightly as she heard the voice, speaking in Egyptian, emanating from behind her and then turned to see Shadi standing there; the man had frightened when smaller, but somewhere over the seventeen years that compiled her life, she had become so accustomed to the spirit appearing from nowhere, that it now longer had an effect on her, and Tsara was beginning to get used to it aswell…without thought, she answered back, speaking in the native tongue of the country her mother had hailed from.

"I am…Denian's been training me non-stop since they told me he was back…"

She sighed as she said it; her uncle had been training her in magical aspects in an attempt to get her skills on par with his own; if she could fight, then Bakura would have a hard time if he were intent on harming her…Daknar and Saheed had been relaying back and forth from Egypt, one at a time so as someone was always there to participate in her combat training…but the training, along with the preparations for the fast-approaching CEO summit…both were taking her toll on the teenager, and yet she done her best not to show it, but it was times like these, when those four men wouldn't take the hint, that her patience wore thin and KaibaCorp Security staff had to be called in.

"Jazira! Jazira!"

The heavy, elaborately-carved wooden door swung open as Tsara dashed in, closing behind her as she ran across the threshold, barely registering the fact that Shadi was there; the kindly spirit took his leave as the other teenager entered, via a respectful nod towards the princess of his country, who then turned to her friend, smirking slightly as she inquired as to her outburst.

"What's up with you?"

"Check out Youtube! Quick, now!"

Before she had a chance to ask her friend why, Jazira was aware of Tsara leaning over her shoulder and typing rapidly on the keyboard of her laptop, it having been manufactured to be connected to the internet the whole time, so no dial-up or connecting was needed to utilise the net…within a matter of seconds, Tsara had entered the highly-popular video-sharing website called Youtube and had commenced a search with tags that had Jazira a little worried; _Jazira Kaiba_, _Antoine Doujarent_…it took about three seconds for a dozen or so pages of options to pop up, and the Ganguro gal clicked on the link of the first option, opening up the video, which played immediately for both teenagers to see…leaving Jazira to say only one thing in her defence.

"Oh, sweet Ra…"

The door to her office then opened again and Roland appeared, his shade-covered eyes looking to the two teenagers, all too aware of what had just been played on the Japanese news station. Jazira groaned and held her head in her hands as she looked back to the laptop screen, the video playing in a non-ending loop; her, Anto…the back garden of the Kaiba Mansion on her mother's anniversary…the heir to the KaibaCorp empire clad in only a loose t-shirt and pyjama shorts, eyes red and obviously crying as the tall, handsome figure of the French company heir held her and let her sob into his chest…oh, this would be a long day…

* * *

"I'm going home, talk to you later; Tsara's coming over aswell, okay?"

Seto half-nodded as his office phone rang and yet another reporter, wanting to know if his daughter was an item with the son of his best business acquaintance, hounded him.

"Okay…I could be late…no messing around with Anto…"

The father flashed a smirk as he said this and received an earful of Egyptian, Japanese and English swears, all rambled into one very insulting assault of words…the teenager was still mumbling the many curses that compiled her vocabulary as se walked off down the corridor, obviously annoyed that even her father was gaining some amount of amusement from this mess…

It took about ten minutes to reach the garages of the KaibaCorp building, because interns kept stopping her and inquiring as to whether she was actually going out with Antoine Doujarent…until finally, with a relieved sigh and half-a laugh as Tsara linked her arm with that of her best friend, Jazira climbed into the back seat of the sleek black KaibaCorp limo, closing the door on the world around them as even the small television situated in the stretched car exhibited the same video as Youtube and now the Japanese news stations, although this time it possessed a news reader to share her input on the footage…ooooh, if she found out who had taped that; KaibaCorp's board of attorneys would be charging them with harassment, eavesdropping, stalking and anything else that could surmise in a stint of jail time…

* * *

"Oh, it's not the end of the world, I mean, he _is_ cute, you can't deny that fact…why don't you just go out with him and see where it goes?"

As Tsara asked this in her usual, nonchalant way as she absently stared out the tinted glass of the window, watching the street lights pass by as they moved onto the main intersection of Domino City, Jazira lightly poked her arm, so as the girl with her waist-length locks of dyed light blondish-grey hair looked to her friend with an inquisitive air about her, only for Jazira to pull up the sleeve of her hoody to reveal the branding tattoo on her left bicep, making sure that the soundproof separation between the passenger and driver's compartment was securely closed before speaking.

"I would go out with him if I could! He's so much more handsome than three years ago and I feel awful that ever called him scrawny; he's so nice and caring and…and…if I even get involved with him, I'll be putting Anto and his Dad in danger...I mean, how am I supposed to tell him about everything?"

Tsara sighed and cast her glance out the window again, into the blackness of evening that had fallen about an hour ago...she thought for a couple of minutes, before speaking in a mature way that very little people ever bore witness to;

for Tsara Kuragatsu was actually quite an intelligent young woman and had received top grades all her academic life, she just preferred not to flaunt her brains.

"You used to wonder how you could tell me about everything…you thought I'd freak out and wouldn't want to be friends with you anymore, but look at us now; we've been the best of buddies for years and I'm not gonna leave you on your own…maybe Anto will take it the same way? How d'you know he'll be freaked out if you never tell him?"

For a few seconds the two teenagers were silent, and then Jazira flashed her smile and leaned over, hugging her friend, realizing the words to be true and just thankful she had Tsara as a friend…as the two seventeen-year-olds laughed amongst themselves, the limo gave a sudden lurch to the side as a loud explosion could be heard and then the harrowing sound of screeching tyres as the driver slammed his foot on the brake pedal…but the elongated car was well and truly out of control…running head-first into an oncoming car, causing the beginning of a possible pile up…the last thing she remembered before blacking out was seeing Tsara grab her seatbelt and secure it in place as the sickening sensation of weightlessness took hold…

* * *

"We interrupt this program to bring you a news flash. About five minutes ago there was a major vehicle collision on the main intersection leading to the outskirts of Domino City; at least four cars were involved…rescue attempts are being made to get the victims away from the area, but for some reason all electrical equipment is shorting out and an invisible force is preventing any of the rescue services from getting close…it's just be announced that there is a limo involved in the pile-up…a KaibaCorp limo-"

That was enough to cause his head to immediately snap up from the stock market ratings his eyes had been running through. Seto Kaiba's cobalt eyes locked onto the screen, his head a whirlwind as he thought back over Jazira leaving with Tsara…the two girls had been taking a limo back to the mansion, but his thoughts were frozen as Toshi Kuragatsu stood in his doorway, face tear-streaked as she clutched a mobile phone to her ear, running her free hand through her shorty-cut black tresses, and speaking in a croaked whisper that did nothing to disguise the fear she was feeling.

"Tsara's not answering her phone…"

* * *

"Ms. Kaiba…Ms. Kaiba!"

With a violent start, the teenager came to, only to cry out in pain as her left shoulder flared into agonizing life…a deep slit running from her very shoulder down to the elbow as a shard of glass protruded from it, having worked it's way down to create the deep wound. Coming to terms with the unexpected pain, Jazira clamped her mouth shut and glanced around, aware that her torrent of hazel hair was falling down over her face and obscuring her vision…only then, with a sickening feeling in her stomach, did she realize that the limo was upside-down, her slight frame being supported by the seatbelt that had just saved her life. She looked around and found her gaze to be on the figure of Shadi, who was looking up at her with worry in his usually blank eyes…but just as he was about to help her to disengage herself from what was left of the limo, the millennia-old spirit suddenly disappeared without warning…

Not knowing what else to do, the seventeen-year-old clicked down on the red button of the seatbelt and braced herself before letting herself drop the short distance to the roof of the limo that was now the side on the ground.

"Owww…stupid fucking…!"

She carried on to continually curse the deep wound on her arm as it flared into life again, the girl wanted to pull the shard of glass out, and yet was aware that it could have nicked an artery, wherein pulling out the obtrusive object wouldn't do any good, only worsen her state…so, with a pained groan, Jazira reached up and supported her friend's light weight as she undid Tsara's seatbelt and let the unconscious girl's figure loose from the seat that was now acting as the ceiling of this wrecked limousine. Thanks to her combat training and her best friend's slim form, Jazira managed to get the two of them outside the ruined car and set her friend sitting against the upturned vehicle, where the driver lay on the ground, knocked out…it was only then that the heir to the throne of Egypt look around; darkness had fallen and all she could make out were the wreckages of cars and blue and red lights flashing a distance away, accompanied by ambulance sirens…but what had been the cause of that loud explosion before the limo had skidded to its current position? As she glanced around, the hairs on the back of the girl's neck stood on end as she heard the cold, callous voice and turned to see a man with white hair, violet eyes, the tanned skin of Egypt and a white scar on the right side of his face…but what she found most disturbing was the pleased smirk on his face as he spoke.

"You have your mother's face."

* * *

"Daknar, Saheed; go ahead and find out what the hell's happening; Ishizu already sent some Tombkeepers, but they can't get through; use the portals!"

The identical duo nodded and hastily disappeared out of sight via the black misty windows that were trademark of their family. It had been a few minutes now since the Marthui trailing Jazira's limo had raised the alarm of a suspected assassination attempt on the Princess, but nobody could get through to find out what was going on; even the rescue attempts for the other victims of the pile up were being halted by "an invisible force", in other words a magical barrier had been formed around the scene of the accident and was preventing any meddling from the outside world.

"He is preventing me from helping her, you must hurry or he will kill her!"

The leader of the Marthui turned to see the now-usual figure of Shadi to be looking at him beseechingly and only then realized how dire the situation was. With a swear, the father looked to his two sleeping sons, having used tonight for one of his rare nights off…trust the Aralanti to move tonight! Denian then raised a hand, summoning a portal through which he stepped, pulling his phone from his pocket and ringing his wife's number, speaking as her soft voice answered.

"Pull all the Tombkeepers back and get the Twits to do the same with the Marthui."

"Denian?"

"It's Bakura; I'm on my way."

With that, the mobile phone was replaced into the same pocket as the brief sense of weightlessness took hold, his body being transported from one location to another in less time than it took to blink an eye…and yet in that short split-second, Denian could have sworn he heard the soft, yet worried voice of a cousin he hadn't heard in over seventeen years.

"_Hurry_, _please protect her from him_…"

**a/n- what ye thinks of this chappie, hmmmmmmm? XxxxxxxxxxX**


	6. Narrow Esacpe

**Author's Note;**Sorry bout the long wait with this chappie peoples; we just got the new internet and I'm uploading as much as I can, lol!!!!! Thanks for waiting peoples, it means the world to me!! C yas, Kas- out:-)XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

His violet eyes momentarily glanced over at the unconscious forms of Tsara and the KaibaCorp driver, his gaze lingering a second longer on Tsara than the middle-aged chauffer, before he spoke again, his voice striking up goose bumps as the cool night air seemingly stood still.

"I was expecting the driver, but not the girl. She's pretty, such a pity she must die…"

As he raised a hand and aimed it at her friend, Jazira suddenly snapped back to reality and raised her own, muttering a few words of Egyptian under her breath as a red flash emanated from his palm, but was halted about a foot from the seemingly deeply-tanned teenager, causing a soft amused chuckle to fall from the mouth of this man.

"Your cousins have trained you well…or do the three Hirotsh boys go by "uncles" nowadays?"

As she stood in front of the driver and other girl, remaining silent as her blue eyes flashed with a mixture of apprehension and fear, the man gave another laugh, albeit dryly as he looked about, numerous individuals appearing behind him via the black portals she had become accustomed to since childhood…and they all had tattoos on their left biceps, but no vertical line dissected the symbol, no differentiating ink linear…these weren't the Marthui, they were the real deal; the Aralanti.

"My apologies, your Highness…my name is Bakura."

As he took a few steps closer to where she stood in front of her friend and the driver, Jazira felt her heart rate slow down as Egyptian instinct took over; her heartbeat slowed a bit as all her energy gathered and focused, before the deep purple aura began to build and her eyes took on the same hue…

"Mmmm…J-Jazira?"

Tsara blinked open her eyes and looked from where she was sitting to see her friend standing before her…but things were wrong, very wrong as she noticed the knocked-out limo driver and all the people standing around with what even she recognised as Aralanti tattoos…out of a form of panic, Tsara glanced around in the hope someone was coming to aid them, but was halted as a man with white hair spoke in an amused fashion.

"Nobody is coming; only a skilled magic-user will be able to transport himself within our barrier…and I'm hoping he does…"

This man blinked as the girl standing before him was seemingly surrounded by what appeared to be a violet light, it was too late by the time he realised what was happening; the energy had burst forth and was already hovering in the air, taking on the form of her Ka…the duel-headed Cyber Twin Dragon…but the blast the dragon emitted struck nothingness as Bakura moved disturbingly fast and the next thing the Princess of Egypt knew, her neck was being gripped tightly and her legs kicked out in a sickly attempt to find the ground…but to no avail as his malicious smirk grew, as did the pressure of his grip whilst his strong muscled arm held her a couple of inches from the ground. So this was Bakura; this was the man her mother had been engaged to, the one she had been meant to marry…her murderer.

Just as the little white stars began to flash in her vision, her right knee acted upon instinct, a memory of Kayreena teaching her something when she was small took over and the next thing Jazira knew, she had crashed to the ground, holding her pained neck as Bakura reeled from a well-placed knee into the groin area…but he then looked back to her, anger livid in his amethyst irises, quite aware that the Cyber Twin Dragon had dissipated back into its vessel by now.

"You're just like your mother; an ignorant little whore-"

"Don't talk about Kisara like that."

That was a familiar voice that filled the coughing seventeen-year-old with immeasurable relief as the owner appeared out of a portal before her and, judging by the pleased look on his still-angered face, and his earlier words about only a skilled magician being capable of penetrating the barrier, Bakura had been banking on having Denian show up as the Dark Magician hovered in front of him.

"Awww, should I be calling Ishizu that instead, she is the wife of a blood traitor…or maybe even your precious little boys…"

A ball of purple energy was thrown directly at Bakura, alerting the rogue that Denian didn't take well to his family being threatened…but it also served in creating a stalling opportunity as the owner of the Ka bent and turned to the two girls, motioning a hand behind them, to where he'd summoned a portal; Denian then locked eyes with his goddaughter and cupped her chin, tilting it upwards and looking at her neck before cursing angrily under his breath as he saw bruises beginning to form and took in the broken appearance of Tsara's left arm.

"Sorry bout the wait, nobody could through and Shadi only just found me; that portal leads to the outskirts of this barrier, from there the squads from the emergency services will take you to the hospital; we have all the members patrolling so nobody will be able to get near you; take the driver with you…hurry, I can't keep it open for long…"

"But Denian, what about-"

"Tell Ishizu I could be late, okay?"

He looked to his niece and nodded towards the awaiting portal, flashing a pleading smirk as chanced glance over his shoulder to where Bakura's laugh was emanating through the smoke, highlighting the fact he wanted her to go immediately and the two young women did just that, half-dragging the still unconscious driver with them. Jazira looked back as they walked into the misty blackness; she had meant to ask how he was supposed to get back if he'd summoned Dark Magician and had just used the last of his magic to create a portal for them, but her uncle had deliberately cut her off, so as she couldn't ask.

* * *

"Jazira!"

Strong arms caught her frame as she stumbled forward, and then the blue eyes looked up to find herself staring at the face of the somewhat more mature of her identical uncles. For a second she was fine, but then the full realization that she'd just almost been killed by her mother's murderer took hold and the teen broke down, adrenaline having been her calmer, but it now having ceased its coursing through her veins, she sobbed into the man's chest, with Saheed hugging her as she did so.

"It's okay…it's okay; you're safe here, he can't get you…"

"But…Denian, he-"

"He knows what he can handle, he's not an idiot; come on; you need a hospital."

And then her uncle relieved the duo of the still unresponsive chauffer and led the two teenage girls to the closest ambulance where the were swarmed with not only paramedics, but the paparazzi had come out in their hordes, trying to get a glimpse of what had happened. In a flash of bulbs, compliments of the cameras that were now being put to good use, the two teenage girls had been loaded aboard one ambulance as Saheed handed the now-awakening and disorientated limo driver into another emergency vehicle…then the paramedics climbed aboard and the doors closed, one young woman examining the bruised neck of the Kaiba girl and placing an oxygen mask over her mouth as a male began to administer Tsara with a drip to counter her evident shock and brace her broken left arm…

* * *

The hospital was swarmed by more paparazzi as the two girls were ushered inside…yet amongst the numerous heads, Jazira spotted a few Marthui and Tombkeepers, reinforcing Denian's earlier words and then, with a sharp pang of worry, she recalled her uncle with his no route of escape as he faced the man who had ended her mother's life and had just attempted to cut her's short aswell…and that was the moment everything sunk in- he was truly back.

"Jazira!"

Almost as if on instinct, her head snapped up and found her blue eyes to be looking at her father's tall frame as Tsara's mom bypassed and hugged her daughter tightly…without so much as a hesitation, the biracial company heiress spoke in Egyptian as she knew her Dad was near-fluent in the language by now and by the widening of his eyes she knew he could understand every syllable of every word she was speaking.

"He tried to kill me."

And then she found herself crying again as her father hugged her…inevitably the moment was all but spoiled as paparazzi poured into the hallway and began to click at the buttons on their cameras…nothing of the Kaiba family's personal business could ever be secret as the public yearned to know every detail, and it was getting old. As the many uniformed men filed in and created a muscled barrier between the picture-hungry reporters and the group of four in the middle, doctors appeared and took control, taking Tsara and Jazira a few floors above, away from the ravenous eyes of the media.

**an- well ppls, did u like this chappie? Lte me know what ye thinks peeps!! C yas, Kas-out:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	7. Sorry

**Author's Note;** Hy huns, sorry bout the wait with this chapter; I've been posting "Time After Time" on another site called "justexpressing . com" thanks to a heads-up from a reviewer for this story, so thanks again hun, and thank you all for waiting huns!

* * *

Jacob and Kirin…the latter aged ten with light sandy-hazel hair and his father's eyes and four-year-old Jacob with dark brown hair and again with the dominating blue-grey irises of the Hirotsh family; those two little boys were two of the three most important people in his life, the third being his wife, and Denian was thankful for every moment he was given with them and yet he still couldn't fathom how he had managed to make it back here alive- not a clue…

One minute he could remember instructing Jazira and her friend, Tsara, to hurry up and go through the portal he had summoned and then there had been a lot of flashes and whatnot, accompanied by some grudge-fuelled fights between the Dark Magician and a seemingly weakened Diabound…but the latter monster was probably just our of practice and would improve at an alarming rate yet to come…

More and more Aralanti members had turned up until they had all summoned their Ka and he had an innumerable amount of attacks heading his way from every direction…but then a portal had materialised behind him and a hand had grabbed around his wrist, pulling the man backwards and through the portal…but the grip had been light yet firm, one he recognised as he did the voice…

"_Thanks_, _Denian_…"

But what had him puzzled and slightly dumbfounded was the split-second in which the portal had transported him; in that tiny fraction of time, the leader of the Marthui could have sworn he'd caught a glimpse of white hair and blue eyes…but then he'd stumbled forward into the living room of the house he and his wife owned and now Denian Hirotsh was standing at the door of his young sons' shared bedroom, almost nostalgic in the way he sentimentally kept watch over them; if Bakura even contemplated coming near his boys or Ishizu he'd slice him clean from his naval to his chin.

A soft hand encircled his and the tall father looked down to see his wife suddenly alongside him, her soft emerald irises also looking to their sons; she didn't ask what had transpired or how he had gotten back- he would tell her in due time and, after becoming tuned to his tendencies, Ishizu knew how Denian worked; if he wanted to tell her something then he would, so why bother pushing the subject?

* * *

"I hate hospitals…I hate hospitals…I hate hospitals…"

Jazira laughed as Tsara continuously repeated her line-up of words for the umpteenth time that morning; they'd been kept in for observation for two days now and had been treated at the highest medical standard as was par for the course when you considered that Seto Kaiba had refused to attend work for those two days; the father had constantly remained close since the crash and it would be a while yet till he let his daughter out of his sight like that again…what if she had been stolen, just as Kisara had?

"I want Gackt…I want Hyde…I want Dir en Grey...I want XJapan...I want GacktJob…I want L'Arc en Ciel…I want Tetsu69…"

Tsara had moved onto a new line-up of words as she lay backwards on her newly-made hospital bed and listed off all the artists and bands she listened to, Jazira's mind flicking upon the time she had actually shook hands with Gackt Camui- she'd only been around eight at the time and had been unknowing of how big he actually was; the man had been attending a large bash at KaibaCorp to celebrate the newest incarnation of the holographic software and he had been playing for the guests, a pricey endeavour but one that Seto Kaiba hadn't even batted an eyelid at.

All in all, the two teenage girls had been pretty lucky to survive the ordeal of two days ago, with only minor injuries; Tsara's left forearm was fractured in two places and was now braced in a cast for the next six to eight weeks, other than that the Ganguro gal had gotten off pretty light with a concussion and two stitches over her eye. Jazira on the other hand had went through an operation to removed the large shard of glass from her left bicep and stitched the wound closed; when it healed her Marthui tattoo would be interrupted by a white streak of skin, but doctors told her she was lucky none of the nerves had been severed or she may have had to have the arm amputated…and the girl's neck was marred by deep purple bruises that formed into the harrowing impression of the white-haired man's hand…she now hid them from view by a scarf and yet the prospect of the CEO summit still hung over head as she knew she would be returning home today and the summit was tomorrow night…and yet the news world was still buzzing with the Youtube video.

Denian had been to the hospital and explained that Bakura was off the radar for a while whilst the Tombkeepers scanned Egypt as did the Marthui, although a large portion of their forces were now stationed along the perimeter of the Kaiba Family Mansion, and along the roofs of the buildings surrounding the hospital, but the young Princess of Egypt was only immeasurably relieved to find her uncle was okay- she didn't ask how he had gotten back for she didn't care; he was safe and that was all that mattered in her eyes.

The street outside the hospital was packed with more photographers than she'd ever seen before and yet, with Tsara holding her hand and the reassuring figure of her tall father behind them, the limo seemed like a haven as she managed to climb in, albeit with a slight nervousness as the flashbacks came fast and heavy…

* * *

"Dad?"

The cobalt eyes were slightly reddened with lack of sleep as the man looked up upon hearing his daughter's tentative voice- it felt a relief to have her home and yet he knew she'd never truly be safe; he'd thought Kisara was safe and she'd been the one to leave that note on his bedside table the morning she'd decided to leave and go to Bakura, and it was killing him to see how their daughter was becoming more and more like her mother every single day…the prospect of history repeating itself yet again was the source of his nightmares, the reason for his sleep-lacking eyes.

"What's up?"

"I'm sorry… for all the times I moaned about being stuck inside this house…for all the times I was bitchy about being like a prisoner here and for not listening to you when you warned me about him; I'm sorry…"

Seto could tell his daughter was scared as she spoke her last line up of words in almost an inaudible whisper, though they made it to his ears as clear as a crystal.

"He said I looked like Mom…"

And the next thing he knew, Seto had some how ended up slowing the space between he and his daughter and was hugging the girl as a few rebellious tears fell, just like when she was small and yet the numerous letters he had received today, inquiring about her hand in marriage alerted him to the fact that she wasn't a little kid anymore, as did the circulating Youtube video and the marring bruises he could see beneath the scarf that adorned her slender neck… 

**A/n- well huns, what you guys thin of this chappie? Let me know huns! Kas:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	8. Kiss & Tell

**Author's Note;** Hey huns- here's the newest chapter and the main plot begins to formulate come next chappie, so let me know what you thinks about this one huns! Kas:-) XxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

The night was dark outside as he stood there…the cruelly-short letter was now overly-crumpled by his hand holding it on countless occasions during the years since it had been penned in her slightly untidy handwriting, a fact they had so often made fun of when in the orphanage…but there would be no more of that, never again…she'd been his only friend when growing up and he'd abandoned her for want of his life holding the _Kaiba_ name…but yet it seemed she too had abandoned him somewhere along the line as her own family name had bore its weight down upon her. They'd managed to come to terms with the other's changing life and from that had been born Jazira, but why had Kisara chosen to have her life ended like that?

These bitter mental soliloquies always ended upon the same feeling and question as the father felt his anger flaring to life, but this anger was only a mechanism to hide his true feelings…Mokuba had come to terms with it and Jazira had never known her mother, but he had had to remain the rock all those years ago as he kept what family he had left together…and not being allowed to grieve was a fate that he wouldn't even wish upon his worst enemies for Seto Kaiba knew all too well what it wreaked upon one's conscience; _unanswered questions_…

"Why the hell did you have to go that morning?"

But just like all the times he'd asked this over the years that had passed, Seto received no answer from his empty room, instead just the silence that now did nothing else but to remind him that she was no longer there…and the guilt that seemed to oppress down on him everyday and tell him he was the one to blame for her death, just like he had been in Egypt…

* * *

"Est-ce que tu malade?"

With a blink, the seventeen-year-old looked around, having not recognised the French accent…her mind having totally forgotten about the two guests the Kaiba mansion was now housing, but then again, with so much that had happened in the last couple of days, she could hardly blame herself…with a smile, Jazira drew her knees up to her as she made space for Anto on the comfortable sofa within the cavernous living room, answering him back in a soft voice that rumbled with hoarseness, due to the terrifying sensation that the white-haired man still had a grip upon her throat, backed up by the bruises beneath her polo-neck sweater.

"Non…je suis desolé…"

"Desolé?"

"Oui…"

"Pourqoi?"

Jazira smiled a tired smile as she heard his questioning and looked to the only person besides Tsara who had ever been a friend to her, only she'd never confided in him as she had with her best girl, and it made her slightly guilty…more so when she thought of all the things now circulating throughout the world news…of that godforsaken Youtube video or maybe the crash that had been concocted to explain Bakura's attempt upon her life.

"Why…maybe because of this video thing…or the crash…"

"La fille trés desolé…"

"Hai…hai…"

It was only as she finished saying this that Jazira's cobalt eyes darted up to see the confusion evident on his face as his sharp grey eyes hovered over her uncertainly, resulting in the young woman stifling a hoarse laugh as she smiled the brightest she had in days.

"Sorry Anto; _hai_ is Japanese for yes…"

She then trailed off into giggling as he made the connection and nodded, still looking slightly confused; this being the catalyst to cause Jazira to relapse back into unexplainable giggles…almost as though her normal bubbly self was clawing its way back to the surface, having been suppressed by all the serious happenings. As she continued on, Anto couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the infectious laughing fit and somehow found himself to be looking at her with admiration; it took a lot to be named a Kaiba- the heaviness of such a burden-reminiscent birthright was immense…and she was carrying it with grace. With a slight smirk, the lad abandoned his native language and thought it better to converse in English before even more Japanese words were thrown into the mix.

"Y' know…you should laugh more…"

Jazira couldn't keep the red blush from her cheeks as he said this in a sincere voice- she'd kill Tsara for planting the idea in her head but that was the reason she had more or less been avoiding Anto for the last couple of days; whenever she looked at him, all she could remember was the feel of his arms around her that morning as she'd cried…

She stared at him for a minute, her cobalt irises locking with the attractive smouldering grey of his and then,without even thinking about the repercussions, the young woman had leaned forward and felt the brief sensation of her lips brushing against his as Anto pulled closer and made to deepen the kiss…but a painful twang from her wounded arm, where the tattoo was now hidden beneath the bandages made Jazira hastily pull away, kicking herself as she did so and immediately stood to her feet, tears welling at the thought of what she's just done…the young French man stood and looked to her with apprehension in his endearing grey irises; he'd thought that was what she'd wanted, he knew he did; so much had changed since the last time he'd been to Japan…

"Jazira?"

"No…Anto, I shouldn't have…we can't…"

"Pourqoi?"

As he stood and made to step towards her, Jazira automatically took equal steps backwards, running a hand through her tresses of hazel hair, blue eyes now swimming with reflective tears as everything seemed to gather upon the tip of her tongue, ready to tell him everything and yet knowing she couldn't, she'd wanted that kiss so much and now she'd just tortured herself by allowing them to get so close…

"Anto…we can't be together- it's just too dangerous…"

The secret heir to the Egyptian throne trailed off into a dreadful and uneasy silence as she realized what she'd just said and what it implied. The nineteen-year-old's eyes narrowed slightly as he heard this remark- he'd known from the moment he arrived here that there was a whole secrete agenda being kept hidden, and this was just proof to that fact.

"Why would it be dangerous? Jazira, talk to me!"

She closed her eyes at the sound of his half-angry, half-pleading voice…letting a tear escape her grip as she could still feel the sensation of his lips against hers…but she let the words finally rein free from her mouth as she placed a hand upon the neck of the sweater and pulled it downwards to show off the bruises that marred her usually flawless neck.

"Because of _this_, Anto…someone tried to kill and he's gonna keep at until I'm dead, just like my Mom! I'm a prisoner in my own home because of that kisima…my Dad is the Pharaoh of Egypt, I'm the next in line for the throne and I have a clan of assassins bent on killing me!"

Jazira stood, breathing heavily and trembling slightly as she did so; unknowing as to what his reaction would be; Tsara had taken about two hours of convincing before actually realizing her friend was telling the truth…but this was completely different as Anto Doujarent merely nodded is head of dark hazel hair, his sharp grey eyes belying no unbelieving or smart comments as he spoke.

"I've known that for years…"

The only noise in the room was that of the seventeen-year-old girl's mouth hitting the floor in response to his words, blinking once or twice as she comprehended his words before actually speaking a shocked and dubious single word.

"_What_?"

The young man nodded his head and took her shocked state as a reason to carry on with his explanation.

"The Aralanti…Bakura…Egypt…Ka's…the Marthui, your uncles and the crash; I know about them all…"

**A/n- well huns, what you think? Is Anto agoodie or undercover baddie? Any suggestions out there would be highly appreciated so fire away huns! Kas:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	9. Babysitter

**Author's Note;** Hey huns- sorry about the wait with this chapter, but the fic went through a few character changes and swaps, along with a plot overvies (big heads-up to "**_pretzelboy_**") so here you huns and let me know what you think!! Kas, :-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

Her mind raced as she felt almost frozen to the spot…how could he have possible known all her secrets for years, as he so alleged? There was only one true way he could be privy to that information and she hoped with all her might that she was wrong, but there was no other way. With fear building and a knot rising in her throat, Jazira let go of the collar of her sweater and backtracked, her cobalt irises now swimming with apprehension and the beginnings of fear.

"What are you, some Aralanti spy?"

As the tall young man made to step towards her, Jazira shook her head and kept backtracking until she felt the wall at her back and stopped still, unknowing what to do as more flashbacks began to run incessantly through her mind- she could feel that vice-like grip on her throat, trying to squeeze the life from her.

"Jazira- non, je suis…ugh crap, how do you say this in English?"

Anto frowned as he wracked his brains for verbs and adjectives- he knew exactly how to say it in French and had developed the annoying habit of switching between the two languages mid-sentence. After an uneasy second or two, the nineteen-year-old ran a hand through his dark hazel locks and sighed heavily, speaking the words he had just sorted out in his head, albeit slowly and thoughtfully as he tried to keep his speech in the English language, though some French aspects still slipped through.

"My mother died when I was treize ans…she was a Tombkeeper."

"She was a…"

"Oui…"

"And your Dad- does he know?"

"Oui aussi…je suis desolé…we should have told you."

As her heart slowly crept back down from where it had leapt up into her mouth, she took a breath to say something, and yet found the words to be sticking in her throat with disbelief…and then, with little all else to do, Jazira broke out into an inexplicable fit of uncontrollable giggles, causing the young French man to survey her with an odd look, yet found her reaction to be quite amusing as she just couldn't seem to stop the laughing.

"Jazira, est-ce-que tu bien?"

"Oui…it's just…I've been all spazzy about telling you for the past week…"

* * *

The rest of the week was one of the few times the young woman was truly happy in her home- Tsara slept over for a couple of the days and yet the most point-worthy aspect was how Jazira was capable of speaking openly about any new developments whilst in the company of Tsara _and_ Anto…though the teenager refrained from telling her father on account of him being barely glimpsed in the mansion. All too soon had the week passed and the weekend arrived, heralding with it the awaited CEO summit. Once 10am arrived that morning all of Domino would be teeming with paparazzi, all gravitating towards the KaibaCorp building.

"Jazira- your father wishes to speak with you."

The teenager looked around and found herself to be looking up at the familiar form of Roland. She'd been in the building since eight that morning trying to sort out the last few things and KaibaCorp was now an over-active flurry of activity as last minute checks were being run ninety-to-the-second. The walk up to her father's top-floor office was a long enough one that Jazira found constantly impede by the elevator being hijacked by an intern or two who were rushing about with the last of the scheduled paperwork for the fast-approaching summit. As the last of the panicking college students dived out and began to leg it up a corridor, the doors of the lift closed and the elevator began its sanctioned ascent upwards.

"How's your neck?"

"It's getting better- at least I can talk properly now!"

The head of her usual security team smirked upon hearing this, his eyes masked by those ever-present shades and yet they had become almost a part of him for, as long as she could recollect, Jazira couldn't once recall the man without his glasses. Over the years, Roland had been a constant presence in her life, always there- almost like another uncle.

* * *

"You looking for me?"

The father looked up as he heard her light voice; over the last couple of days it had elated him to notice how much happier his daughter had been…only serving in making his mind work overtime while he'd been cooped up in this office, causing Seto Kaiba to question his belief in all these magical business. The Marthui and Tombkeepers were supposed to be the ultimate protection, or so he'd been told, but yet…if that was so, then how come he'd almost lost his daughter to that monster? His reckoning was that a bullet to Bakura's head would have saved Kisara that faithful morning…it was just like returning to his youth…Yugi and his gang persistently attempting to convince him of magical things but young Seto had shrugged it all of like water off a duck's back…where had his opinion changed over the years?

How had he become this helpless pawn dependant upon some fairytale powers that had failed so horribly on more than one occasion? Seto didn't deny that the power wielded by Kisara's family wasn't formidable and not to be taken lightly, yet he'd always been a man to stick to his instincts and right at this moment in time, his instincts were telling him he could either lose Jazira to the same fate as her mother or step in and stick to his guns, _literally_ so.

She wasn't so impressed when he told her, just like the father had been expecting for Jazira was too like her mother in too many ways. In the end, Seto merely played the _worried_ card. That move had had an instantaneous result as Jazira had stopped herself mid-swear and her blue eyes had then exhibited obvious guilt as she ran a hand lightly over the scarf that still hid her marred neck.

"I just want you to be safe, that's all…"

"I know Dad…but it's gonna be like having a babysitter…"

The tall company-owner laughed as his daughter displayed an element of apprehension amidst her independent voice; Jazira definitely wasn't a fan of being issued a personal bodyguard- as far as she was concerned; her Egyptian heritage was all she needed…but still, her Dad did have a good point and the flashback-filled nightmares she now frequently suffered from stood testament to that fact.

"Okay then…I'll give him a try."

"Thanks. Jazira, say hello to Jase."

Upon hearing this, the seventeen-year-old turned, with the door to the office opening. She'd been expecting someone of Roland's build with ever-present shades and secretive air…yet this was a bodyguard she wasn't all that put out about for in front of her stood a young man, barely much more than her own age and yet with a chiselled shard chin, broad shoulders, standing about 6'2" and looking rather formidable as one took into account the automatic handgun in its holster on his waist. The young heiress immediately picked up on the tanned quality to this new individual's skin and then his light sandy hair finally her gaze being drawn to his eyes, free of any masking shades, a noticeable light violet hue that seemed strangely familiar to her for some reason.

It was only then that the time registered and the teen looked down to her jeans and sweater; not the attire one would expect for a high-profile summit. As she smirked at her father and exited the lavish office with her new babysitter in tow, Jazira smirked to herself and cast a glance back at her trailing bodyguard…maybe having one of these wouldn't be so bad?

**A/n- well huns, what you think of the latest chapter?? PLease let me know huns!! Kas, :-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX****Author's Footnote;** "_Jase_" is a new character thought up by the talented "**pretzelboy**"- we done major tuning on the developing relationships and now we know what's gonna happen!! Just a major thanks to **pretzelboy** for his help; so thank you hun!!

* * *


	10. Introductions

**Author's Note;** Hey huns!! Sorry bout the wait, did you know teachers _like_ to pile the homework on, lol!! Anyways, Iw ant to thank Andrew (you know who you are hun) for his help with the plot reworking and character development...so thanks hun!!

* * *

"So you're my babysitter, huh?"

Jazira raised an elegant brown eyebrow as she asked this, whilst exiting from the en-suite of her own office. Gone were the teenager-typical jeans, the young woman having changed her attire to an ensemble more expected of a CEO summit; dark navy trousers, high-heeled shoes, fitted light blue blouse and a custom-made KaibaCorp blazer, fitted to accentuate her coveted figure- a dark navy colour that matched the trousers, but with a small KC pin near the collar.

Although he nodded in response to her query, the new lad made no attempt to further elaborate upon this simple gesture, remaining silent as he trailed her back up the long corridor- almost as though he were a shadow of some sort.

"You know you can talk, right?"

Again, the young woman was forced to cast a glance back over her shoulder as she said this, her high-heels creating a sharp click-clacking noise on the tiled ground as she kept walking. Only a small agreeable nod answered her, if not just a mere inclination of his head.

"I know my way to the conference room; you don't have to follow me…"

"Your father instructed me to stay with you, and I intend to."

"Fine, you're going to be bored out of your head…well-paid I'll admit, but still bored nonetheless."

It was as she said this that the seventeen-year-old company heiress finally saw what appeared to be an amused smirk adorning the chiselled features of this young man, shedding light upon the fact that maybe there was a human beneath the sharp suit and ever attention-grabbing gun. As silence threatened to fall once again, the young man spoke once more, though the teenager just couldn't pin it down- there was a haunting, almost creepy nostalgia that she could sense in his voice…like some sort of eerie Déjà vu.

"Is there any specific people you don't want around you, Ms. Kaiba?"

Before even contemplating her answer, Jazira grimaced as she heard the name by which this new employee of her father's had just referred to her as…now that simply wouldn't do. As she took a breath to answer, the young woman kept her gaze fixed on the heavy mahogany door that served as the entrance to the conference room.

"First things first; if you're going to be my babysitter then get this straight in your head- I'm not as old, or as boring as my father just yet, so the name's still Jazira…okay, Jase?"

"Of course."

"Emmmm…oooh! Can you shoot Pegasus' nephews if they come near me?"

For the first time since their meeting about three-quarters of an hour ago, Jazira heard the young man named Jase laugh out loud as his violet eyes looked down at her with amusement in them…and that was when it struck- she saw those eyes, the same shade of violet, filled with sadistic entertainment as she kicked out at nothingness…the crushing grip was back, trying to squeeze the life from her-

"Salut…Jazira, etes-vous bon? Vous ne regardez pas aussi bien..."

The familiar deep voice was one she recognised as it jarred her back from her haunting reveries…ever since the night of the crash, the young woman had been experiencing flashbacks- they came and went as they pleased, and she never knew what triggered them; sometimes it was the sight of a limo, other times it could be something as simple as a traffic report…

Feigning a believable smile, Jazira turned around and smirked up at Anto, the two having become close in the last week as she finally had someone else besides Tsara to trust, though they'd never discussed further on the brief kiss in the living room- maybe after this whole thing blew over…but she knew she wasn't ready for a boyfriend right now, not when she, and subsequently him too, would have to be watching over their back every single second.

"Je suis, un petit morceau a fatigué, cela est tout..."

As she rattled off her excuse in French, it was then that Jazira remembered her newest shadow and looked up to see the two young men eying each other with suspicious glares.

"Jase, this is Antoine Doujarent- a good friend of mine. Anto, ceci est Jase, il est mon garde du corps de presonal- le Papa l'a engagé pour faire du me babysitting."

As Anto chuckled lightly upon being inform that Jazira's father had employed Jase to baby-sit her, a new voice entered the fray, a rushed sentence of run-together syllables and unflawed pronunciation that only served in identifying the language as that of the girl's native tongue.

"Watashi ga anata no ie ni konya todomare ba sore ha yoi ka?"

Disregarding the two young men in an instant, Jazira turned and nodded her head as Tsara spoke in Japanese, requesting if it was alright to spend the night at the Kaiba Mansion.

"Hai, Tsara…hai!"

Things had been a bit tense over the last two days as Tsara had spent a few nights at the Mansion and her father had been in contact, having heard of the limo crash on the national Japanese news…only for him to ask his daughter to come to Nagasaki…the man was fearful of his only child hanging around with the Kaiba girl and the company heiress couldn't blame him. She's med Tsara's father a couple of times and he was very kind and always respectful- but she could understand why he didn't want Tsara being around her; as the sole heiress to such a large company, Jazira was bound to be a target, not even taking into account of the secretive aspects that endangered her life…and the man just didn't want his own little girl getting caught up in it all.

It was then that the Ganguro gal, with her deep fake tan and silver-blond locks looked to the tall lad beside Anto and raised a plucked eyebrow at her friend in a questioning manner, but the Kaiba daughter was cut short from answering as the doors to the conference room opened and the summit was officially started; with Tsara hastily making a beeline away, not wanting to be subjected to the boredom of the following hours, Anto sitting to the right of his father as Jazira walked elegantly into the room, holding herself with excellent poise as she sat in the leather seat on the right hand side of her own father, all the while aware of the suited young man who seemingly melted into the wall behind her, his sharp violet eyes trained n her and flitting about the table every so often…but she just about managed to fight off the flashbacks as the summit agenda was read out by an impartial secretary and all the CEOs were introduced, along with their translators- this was going to be along day, even by Seto Kaiba's standards.

**A/n- well huns, please let me know what you thought of this chapter!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	11. A Promise Made

**Author's Notes;** Hey huns, so sorry about the wait- been through a major test season in school; all the teachers just decided to give us tests at the same time. The return of our original French Teacher spells detentions on the future horizon...but yaya- I got 75 in my Higher Level Biolgy tes, the highest in the class by eleven percent- go me!!

* * *

Although it was battled to its utter extent, Jazira just couldn't stop the yawn from escaping her masterful hold as they walked out the doors, but what was one to expect after nine and a half straight hours? It was only as she mentally counted off the hours on her watch that the young heiress realized just how long she'd actually been confined in that room- and the thought of it made her slightly sick…had she seriously become so much like her Dad now that time bore no significance to her? But as soon as the thought struck, the teenager grinned as she spotted her father being hounded by a woman she so recognised.

"Hi Mrs. Wong…"

Jazira tamed her smile as she spoke the greeting a tone she knew was faked, but politeness always served in hiding one's true intentions, more so when referring to this particular older woman. Vivian Wong was visually not impressed by her labelling as she glanced at the girl…that was the only problem with the man she'd had her eyes on for many years now- Seto Kaiba was quite the catch, though if she could only remove his little daughter from the equation…

"That's _Miss_ Wong, sweetie…"

The innocent, benign tone was one that caused the teen to let the lightning-fast retort fall from her mouth without even thinking about it…more or less blurting out her piece.

"I'm jealous…you seem so happy being a spinster-"

"Jazira, your limo's ready."

It was obvious to see the amused smile on Seto's voice as he draped an arm around his daughter's shoulders and steered her away from Vivian, knowing the two females weren't all that keen on each other in every sense of the word. But what made the girl smile all the more was the light chuckle she heard her father emit as he spoke to her; he hadn't properly laughed in ages and KaibaCorp was starting to take over his life again…she could remember a time when it wasn't like that, but just barely. They passed out of the main function room, into which all the summit guests and high-profile others had congregated for to relax after the almost ten hours in that conference room. KaibaCorp was hosting a small kind of soiree before the guests' departure as a more or less complementary plus, as no paparazzi would be allowed coverage of this small, elite gathering. As the two passed by the main lobby, the daughter cast her glance up at her father.

"You can go back if you want, Dad…I know the way to the garage y'know…"

"It's okay…Mokuba can handle the function room, besides I want to stretch my legs…or are you too old to walk with your Dad?"

"You're the one who'll need a Zimmer frame next…old man."

Another chuckle, maybe even a laugh…it seemed strange that the noise should sound so alien to her, but she'd honestly forgotten what her father's laugh sounded like, and it scared her. Seto frowned slightly as his daughter leaned closer to him, but instinctively, half-hugged her; it seemed only yesterday that she'd taken her first steps in his office.

"Jase was sent ahead, he should be down at the limo already…you still pissed off at having a babysitter?"

"N'yah…he's not the worst…you picked well, Dad- he's cute!"

"Don't go getting any ideas, Jazira…"

As they entered the lift and began the numerous-floor descent, a thought suddenly occurred to the young woman, surprising herself that she hadn't asked it earlier…it seemed like such an obvious question to be asked and yet she'd allowed to slip her mind for those blissful hours in which she was merely Jazira Kaiba, daughter of Seto Kaiba and heiress to the KaibaCorp empire, but that bubble soon busted at the thought of more secrets and lies…she'd just managed to pluck up the courage to tell Anto of her past and now she had to begin with all the lies and deceit anew, and this disappointment and dread was conveyed through the fearful voice she chose to ask her question in.

"Dad, how much does Jase know?"

At this, the answer was possibly over delayed as Seto allowed for a proper smile to adorn his chiselled features upon noticing his daughter's lowered gaze as she stared at the floor of the elevator; he knew she hated keeping secrets from everyone, as the only person she'd ever told of her past had been Tsara…she'd told him earlier that the girl was sleeping over for the night and he was happy- for a few days there, Seto had thought Tsara's father would summon his daughter away from Domino…but he could understand the man's point of view in its paternal entirety.

"Jazira…he knows everything."

"What…how?"

"I don't know the full story but he said his parents were killed by the Aralanti…that's why I hired him- he seemed to know more than the other bone-heads…maybe I took pity, I don't know…"

"Oh dear Ra…my Dad has a conscience!"

The truly amused laugh, smile and hug she got in response to that well-timed comment was all she ever asked for- her old Dad back. They were once-upon-a-time close…but the girl could feel her father being pulled away from her, drawn away by the temptress that was the business world and there was little if nothing she could do about it- a fact the young Princess was all too aware of, and it hurt her.

* * *

"Are you alright?"

At the sound of his voice, Jazira looked up from where she'd been blissfully staring into space; just letting all her thoughts run freely through her mind and becoming immersed in the world of secrets, lies, and illusions that accumulated in her entire life, accompanied by intermittent flashbacks that served in almost making her jump as those violet eyes kept burning into her own as the bruises on her neck seemingly throbbed with pain.

"Jase, if I ask you a question will you answer it truthfully?"

"I'll try my best, Ms. Kaiba…"

The younger of the duo grimaced slightly before smiling to herself and carrying on with her speaking, but fixing one problem first before it became too much of a habit with this person.

"It's _Jazira_, I told you that…but what I want to ask…why didn't you tell me you knew about the Aralanti?"

A short intake of breath was heard in the otherwise silent limo, followed by a lengthy sigh as the young bodyguard directed his amethyst-hued irises out the tinted window of the elongated vehicle, all too aware that the blue eyes of his new charge were boring into him, their enthralling sapphire depths full of innocent and trusting curiosity.

"I don't know who my Dad was…my mother raised me as a single-parent. But she was a liaison interpreter for the Egyptian government and was involved in a few high-profile cases…I guess she must have stirred up some trouble for the Clan along the way; I woke up late one night and found a group of members in our house, my mother…they slit her throat and let her bleed out on the kitchen floor…I was four years of age- I can barely remember her."

The few minutes of silence that followed was one of respect as Jazira realized just how tragic Jase suddenly appeared; she'd only thought of him as a mere employee of her father's who'd been forcefully appointed as her babysitter…not once had it occurred to her that he could have a past so similar to her own and she felt truly sorry for him- she had never imagined the same Clan that had marred her life could cause so much pain to someone other than herself…and felt selfish for such an assumption.

"I'm sorry, Jase…I didn't know…"

"It's okay- it was a long time ago."

They arrived at the driveway of the Kaiba Mansion just as he finished saying this, subsequently lapsing into a silence that lasted the thirty or so seconds it took for the limo to pull to a stop, and the young woman felt her action were befitting. Jase glanced downwards as he felt her light hand covering his, with her clear blue eyes looking up at his ever-marring violet irises…feeling guilt bubbling as she smiled and spoke in a voice that rang with determination.

"It's okay…they won't get away with it; I promise."

**A/n- So let me know what you think huns!! Big up to my boy for his help on Jase's character!!**


	12. New Rivalry Discovered

**Author's Note;** Hey huns- sorry bout the wait; had some stuff to deal with here in Ireland...and only kinda getting back in writing mode now, lol!! Thanks to Andrew and Sheena- they know who they are!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Oh my God, Tsara what's wrong?"

Jazira allowed for her light handbag to fall to the ground as she walked into the sitting room and saw her best friend to be sitting on the couch, streaks marring her deeply tanned cheeks due to her tears, and her light blond-grey hair appearing tousled as it was roughly thrown over one shoulder. As she heard the voice, Ishizu stood from the sofa, she having been there for the last twenty minutes trying to comfort the sobbing teenager.

The crying Ganguro gal raised her head and attempted to speak, only to have her voice choke up and ended up producing nothing more but additional sobs.

"C'mere…"

The seventeen-year-old heiress rushed over to the sofa and sat alongside her friend, pulling her into a hug as Ishizu whispered in her ear, informing her husband's niece of why her friend was now crying her eyes out.

"Some specialists from Nagasaki rang about half-an-hour ago…it's her father; he's on life-support…"

As Jazira looked up from where she was now hugging her closest friend, her eyes conveyed all sorts of emotions; sorrow, shock, pity and most of all confusion…how could the man be in such ill-health when he'd been fine only mere days ago? This unspoken query was answered by Tsara, who only found the strength to form one solitary line-up of words before collapsing back into tears.

"I never…told you…he's- he's a Hibakusha…."

_Hibakusha_; that was a word that caused all types of nostalgia to suddenly flood the young heiresses' mind, her Japanese heritage coming to the fore of her memory, for Hibakusha was the term widely used in referring to victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Hibakusha were challenged with severe discrimination throughout Japan and often looked down upon because of the lack of knowledge concerning the consequences of radiation sickness.

As she saw her uncle standing by the door and not knowing what else to do as slight shock took hold, Jazira stood from the sofa and walked slowly across the room, stopping as she came to Jase, he having followed her inside and stood, somewhat out-of-place at the back of the large room.

"Could you just sit with her for a few minutes, I have to talk to my uncle…she speaks fluent English…please, Jase?"

The tall youth nodded his head and walked up to the still-crying girl on the sofa, speaking low as he sat beside her. It was as she approached him that Jazira could see Denian's eyes lingering over Jase with what appeared to be a distasteful air. Closing the living room door behind her, the young woman looked up at her mother's cousin, knowing he was disapproving about something.

"What?"

"Who's he?"

"My bodyguard…"

I was obvious to by the way he turned away and exited the hall, that Denian Hirotsh was not the happiest person in the world considering the employment of Jase…

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Tsara diverted her gaze as she heard her best friend asking the question, an almost betrayed tone to Jazira's voice as she spoke…the truth being that she didn't know how to take this news; to have the Kaiba name associated with a Hibakusha…

"Is he government-recognised?"

A short pause before Tsara nodded her head slightly, Jase still present, albeit more so leaning against the wall to the left of the sofa, a habit he seemed fond of doing. This action was followed by a few minutes of edgy silence that was abruptly broken by the still-tearful Nagasaki teenager.

"Jazira, I'm sorry- I never wanted you to know…if they found out my Dad was a Hibakusha and I'm your best friend…well then, your family's company would drop in the markets…and now he's dying, and I don't what to do…"

Her own cobalt eyes filled with tears as her friend succumbed to throaty sobs once more- how could she be mad when her oldest friend was faced with losing her father? It was only as she put things into her own perspective that the seventeen-year-old felt a painful lump growing in her throat all the more; for how would she react if her own father were to be taken away form her?

* * *

"What are the stocks like?"

" Toujours en laissant tomber, mais pas comme progressivement…"

_Still dropping_,_ but not as steadily_…Anto regretted telling her this as he heard the exasperated sigh from the young woman, accompanied by a few muttered words he couldn't understand, yet had an inkling that they were swears. Jazira then leaned over his shoulder and looked at the laptop for herself, feeling worse for doing so as she saw the figures for herself and the truth hit her hard once again- KaibaCorp's stock ratings were in the dumps, and the news was now teeming with items on how the young Kaiba heiress was best friends with a suspected Hibakusha…

It had been just over a week now since she'd come home to find Tsara in a flood of tears on the sofa, and in those days, all of Japan had become fixated on one name, and one name only; _Kaiba_. It was as if the entire country was watching with bated breath, wondering what would become of their most predigious family- to have the Kaiba name associated with a Hibakusha was the equivalent of royalty fraternising with some class of harlot...

It was as the young man coughed slightly, that Anto's attention was drawn to the shadowing figure of Jase leaning against the wall of the study, his violet eyes constantly lingering over the daughter of Seto Kaiba. He Didn't like the bodyguard one bit- there was something just _not right _about him…

"Jazira, de lui…"

_About him_… the young French man's grey eyes darted in the direction of the youthful bodyguard as he said this whilst leaning a bit closer to the young woman he had first met as a fourteen-year-old girl. Tearing her eyes away from the rather depressing figures illustrated on the screen of the laptop, Jazira looked to Anto and raised her hazel eyebrows in a questioning manner, asking him to elaborate upon his rather cagey words.

"Que?"

"Bien ... vous avez dit qu'il est au courant de la famille de votre mère et du trône égyptien ...est-ce qu'il est fidèle?"

Although she understood every aspect of his question, it was the last part that caught her off-guard, aswell as the way his slate irises lingered towards Jase, with an almost hateful glare; she had been hoping for the two to get along, but after over a week of awkward silences and grunted responses, it was obvious to see how testosterone took its toll and male rivalry set in. And yet Anto's eyes implored her of the question he had just asked in his native language; _Is he trustworthy_?

Although she opened her mouth to fire back a snappy retort at him, Jazira was beaten to the punch by an additional voice, one with surprisingly perfect pronunciation and an impeccable accent; it was almost as though he were used to speaking the language on a regular basis.

"Je sais que je suis fidèle, mais comme son garde du corps, je dois questionner si vous êtes un pour être fidèles…"

_I know I_'_m __trustworthy_, _but as her bodyguard_, _I have to question whether __you_'_re __one to be trusted_…

"What d'you mean, _me_?!"

Before she knew it, Anto and Jase were nose-to-nose, with Anto's angered voice reverberating around the study as both young men stared intently at each other, anticipating as to who would throw the first punch, and it was as she saw the two of them tensing that the young woman hastily stood between them and pushed the duo apart, speaking angrily as she did so and half-shouting as she felt the two deliberately shoving one another with purposeful force.

"Quit it! What are you, ten years old? Grow the fuck up!"

It was then that a maid decided to knock upon the door and inform the young woman that she had a phone call from Tsara, who was currently in Nagasaki, hovering at her father's bedside with her mother- the man still clinging to life, albeit slightly. As she walked from the large study, still cursing the boys audibly, Jazira never heard the words exchanged between the two…

"Why don't you go back to wherever you came from- she was fine before you came along."

"And why don't you back off and giver her some space…or are we still hoping for another kiss?"

Anto's striking grey eyes widened somewhat as he heard this smart remark falling from the sandy-haired youth's mouth, accompanied by a smug smile as the Egyptian lad nodded his head, an air of triumph in his voice.

"She tells me a lot of things y'know- you thought you actually had a shot with her, huh? What a loser…"

**A/n- So let me know what you think huns!! Like I said- thanks to Andrew and Sheena again!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	13. Broken Bonds

**Author's Note;** Hey huns!! Thanks again to Andrew; he's a hunni!! So get your butt onto Genesis Awards and sign-up hun!! Sorry about the wait huns, and I;m still working out some kinks in the storyline with my hunni, so I'll try to be quicker, I promise!! This chaoter mainly focuses on the developing (or lack thereof) relationship between Jazira and Anto...tear...sniff... Thanks huns!!

* * *

"What's going on with you?"

"Lui…"

"What d'you mean _him_?"

Not bothered with giving an answer, Anto stood from the cluttered desk in the study and walked out of the refined room, pushing past the younger teenager as he did so. Jazira, albeit with a stunned air, was immediately hot on his heels as he made it to the foyer and began walking up the grand staircase, steadily becoming angrily frustrated that she was receiving no answer to her question.

Finally catching up to the French youth, half-way up the flight of stairs, the maddened heiress reached forward and grabbed her friend's wrist and yanked with intended force, causing him to spin around. Anto immediately snapped his wrist back, but what pierced Jazira was the anger that sharp in his eyes, with what looked to be betrayal shining like a beacon within his smouldering irises.

"Laissez-moi la paix et allez trouvent votre baby-sitter…"

_Leave me alone and go find your babysitter_…The seventeen-year blinked her sapphire eyes once or twice as her mind automatically translated his words in a mere split-second, along with the harsh whisper with which he had hissed them. Feeling almost bitten by his words, Jazira squinted slightly, inclining her head at an inquisitive incline to her right-hand side, displaying her confused curiosity.

"An…Anto-"

"He told me, Jazira! You had to tell him we kissed, didn't you? Is it because he already knew about your family? He's known you for a matter of weeks, I've known you for years and you still prefer him, why?!"

It was then that the nineteen-year-old averted his gaze, whilst clamping his mouth shut, then turned back around and began to climb the stairs again, this time at a half-jog, just wanting to make it to the top. Now feeling regret for his outburst, yet feeling an inextricable anger settling and making itself quite comfortable in his chest, feeding his hatred for the sandy-blond Egyptian who had seemingly intruded when everything was going right, and now this enthralling bodyguard was stealing away the very girl he had fallen in love with when he was a scrawny and gangly fifteen-year-old, her being an amusing, joyous and intangibly amiable thirteen-year-old those four years ago…and his feelings had only grown and grown in strength since those early stages of adolescence, but now Jazira was being taken from his grasp by this foreign heartthrob, and it burned in his heart.

She could feel the tears springing to life as her gaze bore witness to his back climbing further up the stairs, reaching the top step…it was only then that she returned o her senses and more or less took the last ten steps in no more than three leaps, tripping on the last one and almost receiving a face-full of the most expensive Japanese carpet to be had. Catching herself just before colliding, Jazira took the brunt of the not-so-graceful fall upon her right knee. As he heard her exclaim slightly, Anto looked back over his shoulder, his normally-clear grey irises appeared troubled and clouded, almost as though there was an intimidating storm brewing within them, like some class of confused and romantically-troubled maelstrom.

With a pang of guilt, Anto leaned downwards and locked gazes with the young woman even though it stabbed him sharply to do so, managing to mask his true feelings by incessantly blinking his eyes. After maybe thirty seconds, Anto spoke…in a quiet whisper that was laced with so much unspoken hatred, it both surprised and scared him.

"I was happy when I came here, but things have changed. Jase makes me act like some pig-headed asshole around you and I hate him for it…I hate being this jealous monster he's made me into…je suis écœuré avec moi…"

_I_'_m disgusted with myself_…the heir to Doujarent Inc. leaned back against the wall of the hallway that continued on from the staircase, and exhaled deeply, a long and surprisingly shaky sight that revealed his true emotions. Now feeling the pain throbbing in her knee, most likely the foretelling of an imminent bruise, compliments of the collision with the last step, Jazira heard her friend swallow a painful lump and what she saw next was a sight that truly frightened her…terrified her stupid with unbearable guilt.

"Anto…"

The young man, now in the closing stages of his adolescence, raised his forearm and hastily wiped away the single tear whilst exhaling another, less-shaky sigh, removing all evidence of that single moment of weakness; the "perfect man", as voted by the women of the world, suddenly didn't seem so intangible and dreamy; he was just a normal youth who was tired with the trials and tribulations of one's heart. Anto shook his head and stood, leaving Jazira sitting on the final few steps, having not moved an inch since falling and forcefully banging her knee on the edge of the godforsaken step…just like her life; falling at the last hurdle yet again.

"Our branch is fully constructed and all the staff began work last week…the mansion is ready aswell; I meant to tell you earlier, but…I and my father are moving out- tonight."

With that, he left her there on that top step and walked down the short distance to the room that had sufficed as his home for the past number of months, closing the door behind his handsome frame and not once looking back as Jazira let loose a few deep-throated sobs, her hands holding onto the banister of the stairs and, for once in her life- she let her tears have reign…all her life, the young woman had trained herself that crying was display of weakness and only tolerated it in extreme circumstances…but something Denian had once told her came flooding back; strength is not measured in the amount of tears unshed, but more so in those chosen to be shed.

* * *

It was only when a kitchen-maid heard the noises that Jazira found herself not alone on the stairs. The maid had worked in the Kaiba household since the days of pre-Kisara…having watched Seto Kaiba change from a cold-hearted young man, to a loving father and brother and she had also seen that loveable little baby grow into the admirable young woman that now sat on the stairs of her home, crying pitifully, though unwilling to diverge the cause of her upset.

At eight o'clock that night, a hired cab, or the most expensive sort pulled into the Kaiba family grounds and parked at the base of the cement steps leading up to the magnificent mansion door, awaiting the duo of French men who bid their farewells inside.

"Au revoir Jazira, faites attention mon chéri."

_Goodbye __Jazira_, _take care my darling_. A kindly smile and a warm hug from the tall, middle-aged man. Then Jerohn pulled away and winked at his friend's daughter, a wink that managed to pull a hint of a smile from within her as she remembered seeing the same man do the exact same action four years ago.

Next came Anto…Seto and Jerohn stood to one side of the foyer, speaking business as they believed the duo to need some privacy- if only the fathers had known the true extent of the youths' mangled relationship.

"Goodbye Anto…"

"Au revoir…"

The young man then walked out the front door, stopping as he glanced up at the sky and ordered his thoughts, deciding to let loose the secret he'd managed to keep for four years and yet, as he looked back at the swimming eyes of his once-friend, Anto swallowed hard and felt his familiar hatred blowing back into life as he realized just what a truly perfect vision of beauty Jase had stolen from him.

" I hate myself...I hate Jase, and I hate what he's transformed me into; I just can't be around him anymore or I'll draw blood, I swear I will, Jazira…"

A few more tears fell from her flooding eyes as she saw the pain evident on his handsome, chiselled face, but Anto hadn't finished saying his piece just yet, and continued on in a low, sincere voice, whose tone softened to that of tender caring, his eyes softening to pools of malleable silver tenderness.

"Mais il me tue…parce que je vous ai aimés quand je vous ai d'abord vus il y a quatre ans et je sais dans mon coeur je vous aime toujours, Jazira Kaiba…et je sais aussi que je ne peux jamais vous avoir."

His soft lips brushed again the skin on the back of her hand, as did a few strands of his dark hazel hair whilst the young man completed the most loveable of French traditions. He leaned up from kissing the back of her hand and walked to the cab, not once looking back to see the fresh tears as Jazira realized what a fool she'd been, her mind once again translating his breathtaking words, resulting in the young heiress feeling the air winded form her lungs. She continuously heard his words reverberating round and round in her head as another of her friendships seemingly snapped in front of her eyes, the bonds of trust and truth finally broken. And yet those words just kept spinning around her brain, punishing her for may hours after their speaker had left…

_But __i__t_'_s __killing me_..._because I loved you when I first saw you four years ago and I know in my heart I still love you_, _Jazira Kaiba_..._and __I also know I can never have you_.

**A/n- Thanks huns!! And please let me know what you thought!! Kas, :-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	14. The Game Begins

**Author's Note;** Sorry about the wait huns, my internet's been playing up...again...and the end of school is next week, so everything's just a mad rush cos me being my intelligent self have decided that there's no time like the week before end-of-year exams to actually do your homework, lol! I wouldn't recommend it btw...:-) The people who I want to thanks know who they are by now, lol!!

* * *

"I'm her father!"

"And I'm her god-father; I get a say in her well-being aswell for Ra's sake!"

Jazira merely rolled over in her bed, groaning slightly as she clutched a pounding migraine, the shouted voices merely grew louder and louder in volume, and similarly grew angrier all the while. Somewhere amidst the shouting match between her father and Denian, the seventeen-year-old fell asleep, fully clothed- she fell into a troubled and tormented sleep that plagued her with images of a tall nineteen-year-old frame…she was in the living room and leaned forward, kissing him like she had always wanted to, but it was only as the young woman pulled away from the wondrous kiss that she realized the young man wasn't Anto at all…it was Jase.

Just as she leaned forward and linked her arms around his broad neck, with him wrapping his arms around her waist, whispering lowly, did Jazira wake up with a violent start, her stomach churning slightly as she felt the familiar guilt blowing back into life…it had been two weeks since Anto and his father had moved out, and every time they ran into each other due to business and the coalition of KaibaCorp and Doujarent Inc. the tall French youth didn't even lock gazes with her- he looked away and ignored her…but what hurt the heiress the most was the obvious pain she was causing him in just being there.

With want of a better action, Jazira flicked on her room light and, flinching slightly as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she decidedly switched on her television aswell, wanting something to distract her from the fact that it was eight pm and there was still a long night left ahead of her. The headline across the screen was enough to tip her over the edge and the next thing Jazira was aware of was attempting to run to her ensuite, yet unable to make it that far…she vomited up onto the expensive, rich cream carpet as the headline remained emblazoned in her mind' eye.

"**日本語です ****ディーゼル唯 議事録 前**"

_Hibakusha Dies Mere Minutes Ago_…as the newscaster went on to explain how Hiroshi Kuragatsu had lost his fight for life only a matter of minutes ago, it was sickening to see how the emphasis still landed upon her family- the Kaibas…what about Tsara; she'd just lost her father and yet, all the press cared about was the upper-class name associated with the bereaved girl…

Feeling an inextricable urge to be with her best friend, Jazira found herself walking rapidly down the extravagant hallway of her home and, albeit unintentional, turned a corner and walked straight into her own father. With another bout of vomit seeking its way up her throat, the near-eighteen year old just about managed a rather rushed statement.

"I need to go to Nagasaki…"

Seto couldn't help but look his daughter up and down as she blurted this out. In lieu of what he and Denian had been shouting about earlier in the evening, it was only as she stood before him that Seto came to realize just how much Jazira had grown to resemble her mother; she may have his hair colour, but his blue eyes were stone cold, frozen ice, whilst Jazira's displayed the melted warmth of sapphire…the very same to that of Kisara. She had the same face as her mother, with her elegant chin and rather petite overall build…but her smile, that was where he saw the resemblance in its entirety, for Jazira's smile was a constant, stabbing reminder of her mother's bubbly self. But what got to him the most was the fact that his little girl would turn eighteen years of age in only another two weeks…Kisara had been that same pivotal age when she sacrificed her life.

He had just seen the news covering the same story on every single channel and he couldn't help but feel an intense pang of sheer pity for Toshi Kuragatsu, having known her pain for man years now and as much as he actually did want to, Seto knew he couldn't let Jazira go to Tsara.

"No…you can't go anywhere."

Just as the teen attempted to take a breath and fight her corner of the argument, the CEO of KaibaCorp took a breath and spoke, elaborating upon the reasons behind his paternal decision not to allow her travel to Nagasaki. It was a bombshell to drop and he knew it, but it had to be said…Denian had been clear on that and had dropped the news in a fashion much the same to how he was about to.

"Ishizu's in hospital, there are four Tombkeepers dead and Daknar's been missing for the last three hours, with Saheed in a coma…"

The strained silence that followed the father's words was enough to deafen even all of Japan as it's full consequences announced their arrival without even a whisper of sound.

* * *

She stood and looked down at that intangible frozen moment of time for the umpteenth time in her life; the handsome young man, smiling as his girlfriend sat with a babbling infant girl on her lap…but the picture was so much of a lie that it stabbed her with bitter venom for, only an unbelievably short while later, the happy-family image would be stricken and shattered into millions of tiny shards that returned and acted as daggers whenever Jazira Kaiba's life took a downturn…she would always revert to this place of mourning, where she could see the one person who could comfort her, the only person she had ever longed for in life and that person was nowhere to be seen, for fate has inverted it's gnarled and ugly hand…violently twisting the paths of those concerned. And one of those paths, the one that Kisara Hirotsh had been placed upon had resulted in a tragically untimely death…

* * *

Long chestnut hair danced about lightly in the wind…a tanned complexion that only served in accentuating this young woman's natural beauty, and those depthless sapphire eyes…nothing could ever look more perfect and the she had known that from the very night Jazira had been placed in her arms, and now, as she stood in front of her daughter, in all her apparitional glory, shrouded by whatever veil one chose to believe existed, Kisara knew that Seto had done a good job raising their daughter…though a lot still remained left to do…forces were at work and time was running out…the first moves had been made tonight…the pawns had been thrust into play and the King was about to be checked…and all this mother could do was watch from the sideline as her perfect child made her own mistakes- for that was all any mother could do, be they living or watching over.

**A/n- Well, please let me know that you thought of it huns!! Kas, :-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	15. Paths To Be Followed

**Author's Note;** Wow, this is the longest thing I've written in yonks, apart from a FFVII oneshot that's not even done yet, lol!! But I was in school today, sitting outside exams and monitoring them when I decided to get up the next chapter tonight and started typing- so I want to say sorry for the wait and I hope you guys enjoy the read. XxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

Her mind was still reeling as the night air grew all the colder, biting at her cheeks as a frost began to settle down over the grounds of the Kaiba Family Estate. As the darkness surrounded her, the young woman thought back on all the hurt and pain that had been caused on her behalf. Her father had explained how the night's happening had occurred and her mind was only now processing his words and piecing together what had happened.

Shadi had been in contact with Ishizu and informed her of how the seven ancient artefacts were in danger, threatened by the Aralanti. Being a Tombkeeper, it remained her obligation by birth to protect the magical antiques. Being so obliged, she gathered a group of four comrades, being flanked by Saheed and Daknar on the order of Denian, and used the portals to travel to Pharaoh Atem's tomb…where the Aralanti were already waiting. The four accompanying Tombkeepers, three males and a female, were cut down first, with Saheed sustaining serious head injuries and was now in an induced coma with a worry of subsequent brain damage. Ishizu suffered several broken ribs and a fractured arm- her lack of serious injuries thanks to her husband's brothers protecting her…but Daknar was Missing In Action, suspected to be taken prisoner by the Aralanti.

Suddenly the young woman's thoughts were interrupted by the chilling feeling of not being alone at this grave; she turned to see a familiar figure to be standing, watching her.

"Jazira…your path in fate has been set and you will depart on your future this very night- keep this close to you, always."

Shadi tossed a small item her way and disappeared as soon as she it in the palm of her right hand. The metal felt disturbingly cold in her grasp and she could feel it drawing the heat from her palm. She looked at it and recognized the insignia embossed on it lustrous surface…so this was one of the items that served in placing her aunt in hospital, one of her uncles in a comatose state and the other one to be missing without a trace…this was one of those "Millennium Items" her Dad had mentioned. It didn't look so intimidating- a small gold ball with a striking eye glaring up at her; the Millennium Eye. Instinct told her this small orb was a lot more influential than it seemed. But she had no time to dwell on this thought as footsteps were heard approaching her slowly through the now frost-laden and rigid grass of the expansive lawn…her first thought should have been to ring Anto, but she couldn't bring herself to and that hadn't been her first thought…he had.

She'd explained to him on the phone of why she was upset and had then apologised for burdening him with her own family problems, but the young man had told her never to apologise and had insisted he was more than just her bodyguard- he was her friend aswell and now Jase stood just behind her, waiting for her to speak first; she'd called and he'd offered to come over…but now Jazira was afraid to speak for fear of what answer she might receive for she'd already set her mind to her own actions; she just didn't want to do it alone…

"How far would you go to protect me?"

"As far as I need to."

A couple of seconds of silence as she tried to sort the words out in her head first before speaking them, but that didn't seem to work, so the teenager just spoke whatever came to her the easiest instead.

"I can't stay here; I've caused too much trouble for my own family…I need to get away and I'll understand if you don't want to co-"

She trailed away in silence as she saw his violet eyes staring down at her with amusement in their depths- he was coming and she knew it then and there; this fact accentuated by the gentle placing of his hand on her cheek. It would be dangerous, she knew, but she just couldn't hurt anymore of her family…

* * *

The machines continued to beep at a regular pace as she sat in the chair and her eyes remained trained on the monitors and other medical apparatus…Herani heaved a shaking sigh as she looked to her husband's unresponsive form lying in the bed, her light green eyes welling with unshed tears yet again; she'd only just stopped crying as Dahrej had drifted off to sleep- the little boy had only begun walking unaided yesterday and Saheed had been so proud of him, delighted in showing Denian- both and he and Daknar held their brother in an unbeatably high admiration…though it had to be said that Saheed was always a little closer to their older brother than his twin- when he'd been six, Daknar had become dangerously ill, and it had been touch and go for a while, but Denian had managed to hold them together…when the kid had come to, Denian had gone on a mission despite his young age- merely for reconnaissance purposes with some older members of the Clan…but things had gone wrong when the base had been attacked by a small team of Tombkeepers…Daknar had managed to get targeted and it had been Denian to push his little brother out of the way and take the hit, being only ten at the time. Denian had got badly injured and since then Daknar had always kept that bit more secluded from his older brother, almost as if afraid he'd be the cause of getting him hurt again…but the gap was only noticeable to those who knew the three Hirotsh boys. He'd saved her life when Bakura had claimed her as his wife; the white-haired man had been lying…the reason he had taken her to his quarters all those years ago was because he'd discovered she'd been the one to inform Denian of Kisara's condition, she still shivered with terror of what the leader of the Aralanti would have done to her had Denian not got to there first…

Little did anyone know that her mother, still with the Aralanti, was playing both sides of the field and leaking info out to her Marthui daughter…Bakura had altered the rules of the Clan drastically- the leader, in the past, was not allowed a harem, only a singular wife…from what her mother said, Bakura now had a harem with eight wives at present and he'd been trying to learn the Marthui magic that Denian was so fluent in…with no success. Her mother had gone so far as to state that Bakura was nervous now- Denian's Marthui had grown in numbers over the years and even though the Aralanti still outnumbered them greatly- the Marthui had amassed a skill-level unseen in any if the Clan members. But the most hope-inspiring thing she'd heard from Egypt was that Bakura was scared- he was scared shitless of Denian and for that reason she would always be thankful to her brother-in-law; he would never let anything happen his subordinates or family…since Daknar hadn't returned, he'd been talking with Kayreena for a while, calming her and had been extending the Marthui's espionage talents into the outskirts of the Aralanti territory…

The beeping of the machines suddenly became overly-erratic and one continuous beep sounded as all the graphs on the machine screens flat-lined at the same time…with a panic rising in her throat as Dahrej woke and began crying, Herani pressed the emergency button on the wall, finding a nurse to be ushering her out of the room as doctors rushed by…all radiating towards her husband…why wasn't he waking up? She didn't have a clue what she'd do if he died- she'd always been with Saheed and could never see herself with another- he was her husband, she loved him with all her heart and yet he was lying in that bed with no pulse…

* * *

"Oh Saheed…Saheed!"

He spun, looking over his shoulder as he heard the familiar voice and found his blue-grey eyes to be looking at a familiar young woman, the great dragon waiting patiently behind her, knowing the meek-looking girl as its one and only master…but what got him the most was the taller young woman standing beside her; she'd been a mother figure to he and Daknar as Denian had struggled in getting them to behave for the Elders…he knew that long chestnut hair and those enthralling amber eyes that his older brother had fallen in love with…remembering how she smiled in that same motherly way all those years ago.

"Sheejahri?"

"Hello, Saheed…am I right?"

The shorter female, who still bore her cheeky smile as she did in life, nodded her head of colourless tresses in response to her cousin's past-wife; Sheejahri had always had a bit of difficulty in distinguishing between the twins. With a laugh, she looked to Saheed, folding her arms across her chest in her defiant manner.

"Ra above, you look like you've seen a ghost, Saheed!"

"Two actually…am I dead?"

"Not yet, but Herani'll kill you if you die on her! She won't be able to look after Dahrej on her own- he's only just started walking…"

His eyes were full of surprise as he heard Kisara say this- how could she know about his son learning to walk- it'd only just happened yesterday. As he made to say something, Saheed was cut short by Sheejahri smiling in her maternal way and then she idly disappeared…but his cousin, who seemed just as real as she had almost eighteen years ago, remained in front of him, and the pleading that filled her sapphire eyes kept his own gaze trained on her as she spoke in a fearful voice…

"She has to show Denian something…Saheed; you need to go back and tell Denian and Seto about the boy…"

With trepidation and confusion continually building up, Saheed spoke, not knowing why he had to inform his brother about a boy- and which boy at that?

"What boy, cuz?"

"Bakura's son…"

And with that, the young man found himself falling away as she watched him with a lamenting look on her pale face…he wanted to stay with her, to ask why she'd left that morning when the Marthui could have protected her…he wanted to shout and roar at her for leaving them and her own daughter…but most of all, he wanted to tell her how much he'd missed the cousin who'd been his little sister…

* * *

A painful thump on his chest as the doctors removed the charged paddles from the young man's bare chest, attempting to shock his hear muscle back into life- his wife was outside the room, looking on in sheer terror as monitors' graphs remained flat and unresponsive as the medical team repeatedly tried to shock his heart back into action…but to no apparent avail.

Beep! Beep-beep…beep-beep…beep-beep

The rhythm sounded loud and clear as the doctors and nurses surrounding the young man sighed with relief. The graphs on the monitors sprang back into their erratic patterns as lungs inhaled deeply, whilst blue-grey irises cracked open slightly as a groan was heard emanating from the revived youth.

Saheed barely had enough time to react before he felt arms around his neck and Herani was heard sobbing as she held him, half-afraid to let go for fear this might be a dream or cruel illusion of some sort…With want of a better option, the head doctor spoke; as far as his medical knowledge went, this young man should have had severe brain damage, not be blinking dubiously as his wife clung to him.

"Mr. Hirotsh…to be blunt about this, you died…"

Saheed answered in a nonchalant, airy voice as he managed to put his arms around his wife, who was only now just regaining some of her composure…he rested his chin atop her head…eyes distant.

"I…I left this world…"

"Where did you go?"

The nurse blushed as she asked this- she'd seen a lot of people flat-line like this man just had…but all of those had died, not one had ever been brought back successfully…and if truth be told, she felt as though she should ask…her thoughts wandering as to what he could have possibly glimpsed- a heaven, nothingness? A minute or so of silence followed, in which Saheed remained distant and Herani lifted herself from his grasp, now curious as to what his answer would be to the nurse's query…

"I went to a place where all are one…or it could have been a fucking janitor's closet for all I goddamn know!"

The smirk spread so quickly, it became infectious as the smart comment hit home- he'd just died and been brought back to life, and yet Saheed was still passing smart remarks laden with trademark curses…maybe some things never did change after all.

* * *

Kisara had meant her words in earnest when she'd told Saheed that Sheejahri had disappeared to show Denian something and this fact was driven home as she watched her once-husband leaf through a large tome on the Aralanti- he was a wise leader and had known something was amiss with that boy since the very first day…but they didn't have much time to spend and let him discover on his own so, in all her unseen glory, the deceased young woman managed t unclasp the window fitting, allowing for a strong gust to enter the room.

She smirked as she heard him curse foully as papers were cast awry- it seemed the tins had an effect on him after all for she'd never heard him curse like that when they'd been married…he was pissed off now and she could tell that with great amusement as he managed to close the window and walked back to the desk in the study of the house he now owned with his new wife. She'd been there the whole way; when he'd first arrived in Domino all hose years ago, when he'd fought Bakura to get Kisara, she'd watched his relationship with Ishizu Ishtar bloom and had stood, unseen, at the back of the church during their wedding ceremony…she'd seen Kirin's birth and, six years later, bore witness to the birth of Jacob aswell…all through his new life, Sheejahri had been keeping an eye on Denian and this was where it all came into play as he bent downwards and saw it- the reason she'd opened the window; the brown file on a young man named Jase…

* * *

The plane was full and she could feel the paranoia building up inside her as the seat seemed to swallow her- so this was what it was like outside of First Class- no leather chairs, no spacious foot room; the nearest thing Jazira Kaiba could refer to the large plane as was a tin packed with sardines. The teenager hadn't been too surprised when Jase had agreed to come with her- held even thought of the small details such as changing her appearance somewhat by means of a downtown hair salon- her long, waist-length hazel locks were now a thing of the past as the young woman flicked back mid-length black tresses, with a bright blond streak; the idea of the bright streak was to draw people's eyes to her hair rather than her features as her dark skin and blue eyes remained as such…

But it seemed to have worked as the people aboard this plane all immediately shut up as the pilot began their ascension into the sky, bound for a land she had never been to, despite being partially-native to it and heir to its throne…with her bodyguard in the seat next to her, though she was noticing how her mind was beginning to see him as more than just a hired help…he was a friend, and maybe even more.

**A/n-Please let me know what you thought of it huns, and thanks a million for reading!! Told you I'd get it up, Andrew!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	16. Arrival

**Author's Note;** Hey huns- decided to try and get over wome Writer's Block and this is what I got, so please forgive me if it's a bit thin right now...anyways, thanks for waiting and sorry about the delay with this chappie!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

His breath caught in his throat as he looked at the small dossier on the nineteen-year-old…this wasn't KaibaCorp's file on the lad- this was a biopic that he hadn't even known had existed- one that had been property of the Aralanti and must have ended up here somehow when the Marthui split from the Clan…how could it have been missed so easily? The lad had been 'guarding' his niece for numerous months now…all the time getting closer and closer to her…if it hadn't been for that damned window opening, he might not have seen this information at all. The noise of a ringing phone shattered the young man's shocked paralysis and instantly brought him back to reality, but not before a familiar voice was heard whispering to him lightly upon the air…

_You only needed some direction_, _hun_…

Only one person had ever called him 'hun' in all his life and, although his mind wanted to reflect upon her memory and indulge himself somewhat, Denian found himself picking up the still-ringing phone before it woke his two sleeping sons, hearing another female's voice on the other end, yet his heart immediately filled with dread as he realized it was Herani calling from the hospital…_Saheed_…

"Herani, is he-"

"Saheed's awake and fine…you need to call Seto- Jazira's in danger!"

* * *

How could this be even possible? He'd had that boy's past investigated thoroughly before he'd been instigated as her bodyguard…the whole of KaibaCorp's legal team and private eyes had raked through his past…but the only things that had turned up had been the fate of his poor mother- killed by Aralanti members when the boy had been only a mere four years of age. It was only as he now thought back that Seto realized that no information had presented itself of the lad's father…and now the man kicked himself for not realizing the threat he had placed into contact with his own daughter…but at least he could stop any more danger being created by never letting that young man within the confines of the Kaiba Mansion ever again, whilst keeping his daughter safe within- it may be just glorified imprisonment, but if it kept her safe, then wasn't it worth it? Her bedroom fast approached his rushing feet and the father found himself pushing the door open as he spoke.

"Jazira, sorry if I'm waking you, but-"

The reason died in his throat as he flicked on the light switch and Seto Kaiba realized that his daughter was nowhere to be seen…her room was disturbingly empty- the bed was still tossed slightly and the television was still on the same news channel reporting about the death of Hiroshi Kuragatsu…the patch of cream carpet was still a little darkened and damp from where the maid had cleaned up…but where was his daughter?

No clue met his eyes as they automatically scanned the large room, wanting some obvious trait to jump out- maybe the noise of running water to indicate she was in the en-suite…but no such noise met his begging ears. But then something _did_ manage to flag the father's attention- her expensive silver phone lying half-hidden under a pillow. With an almost irrational panic arising, Seto picked p the phone and began to flick through the menu until he reached her call log and his cobalt eyes locked unto the name of the last person she'd called; _Jase_.

* * *

The sun was only beginning its meek rise above the undulating horizon as she stepped out of the car, the light breeze warm on her tanned skin- so this was the country her mother was from; the country her father governed and whose ancient throne she remained the heir to. They hadn't drawn any attention at the airport, most likely due to her new hair and Jase giving her his hoody- the hood being pulled up as she walked through large terminal…it had seemed a relief to hail that cab and get out here to the less populated section of Cairo.

"So this is Egypt…wow…"

The almost eighteen-year-old completed a three-sixty degree turn as she spun slowly on the spot, taking in the breathtaking scenery of the golden sand dunes that rose and dipped below the early red sun…even the silhouetted form of a behemoth structure could be seen against the breathtaking light. With awe still alight in her captivating irises, Jazira turned to see Jase idly flicking through a small bunch of keys, asking her question as she looked back at the shadowed form.

"Is that the Sphinx?"

"Yeah…it's amazing close-up. And the Pyramids are over that way…keeping heading east and you'll reach the Valley of the Kings…"

"I didn't know you lived so close to desert…"

"I like visiting…my Mom used to bring me when I was young and I've kind of held to that since, you coming in or staying out here all morning?"

With a slight laugh, the teenager tore her gaze away from the enthralling sight and turned towards the young man she had entrusted herself to only a matter of hours ago…she didn't know why, but being in Egypt just felt right- all her life she'd lived in her father's home country and it was about time she saw her mother's homeland. As she walked through the front door, Jazira couldn't help but notice how happier Jase seemed since touching down at the airport, and that was most notable in his entertained smile as he spoke and inclined his head towards a sideboard.

"Watch this…"

Jase reached his hand down and pressed an unseen button, smirking as a hidden drawer slid out to reveal a secrete stash of large firearms, coupled with rounds of various ammunition…all insulated in a grey moulded foam- as though the very sideboard had been built to stash these weapons. The nineteen-year-old picked up one of the long-range sniper rifles and glanced at the butt before showing it to the girl.

"Hey, that's the KaibaCorp logo!"

Jazira stepped forward two or three steps so as to gain a closer view of the over-familiar logo- the unmistakable trademark of her very family; she'd been raised by that KC insignia…but what was it doing engraved into the butt of a sniper's rifle? It was as though he saw this question burning in her eyes, that Jase smirked all the wider and answered the unspoken query.

"Years ago, when Gozaburo was still running KaibaCorp, before your Dad overthrew him, the company wasn't a gaming corporation- it was a weapons manufacturing company. When your father took over the helm and converted to the world of gaming, he commandeered the destroying of most of these weapons, but before they could all be eradicated, some of the scientists who developed them sold a few crates to some terrorists- when KaibaCorp officials found out, the scientists were jailed and the terrorists were hunted down by the UN and Japanese forces…they fought back and four were subsequently killed, with the remainder jailed for life- but the weapons were never discovered. When my mom bought this house, she had no idea about all this…I only found out about it last year when I was looking around for my keys- hit the button by accident and scared the crap outta myself!"

Jase replaced the gun back into its mould in the drawer and hit the unseen button again, causing the drawer to slide back into secrecy, masking the fact that it had ever been there in the first place; a masterful hidden montage of deadly weapons.

"What do we do now?"

"Well, till you decide what it is you want to do, you can just kick back and make yourself at home here…"

As he said this, Jase idly kicked off his footwear and heavily sat into one of the armchairs in the living room of the house, masterfully locating the remote control for the television and pressed the power button, switching the TV onto whatever channel it had been on previously.

"Oh shit…"

"What?"

With worry and anxiety springing to life at the sound of his tone, Jazira walked to the living room and locked her eyes on the screen of the modestly-sized television set, seeing a familiar face to be staring back at her from the biggest press conference she'd ever seen, with news crews bustling for a chance to get closer to the podium at which the man was standing, the sky of the Japanese evening overcast, foreshadowing of snow ready to fall…it seemed so hard to think that the country was six hours ahead of the one she was now in…but all these trivial thoughts vanished as the man at the podium spoke, with the screen splitting to show two additional pictures beside Seto Kaiba- one of her and another of Jase.

"This young man is to be considered highly dangerous and armed- we ask poeple not to approach him if seen for the good of their own safety, but to go to the nearest police station. If anyone has any information concerning the young man in question or my daughter, I will personally give a substantial reward…and if by any chance she's watching this…I just want to ask Jazira to come home- if it's anything I said or did, I'm sorry…"

And then he was walking away from the podium, flanked by Roland and Denian…there were security teams everywhere- like after the Limo crash…but what got her the most was the light sparkle she'd seen in her own father's eyes- to anyone else, it would have passed unnoticed…but he was her Dad and Jazira knew what that odd sparkle meant; he was holding back tears and that was her fault.

"Jazira...you okay?"

Jase was standing and walking towards her, having switched off the television upon Seto Kaiba finishing his say. He was looking at her bowed head and guilty expression, knowing her heart to be in turmoil upon watching that broadcast. He walked up to her, placing a hand to her chin and titling her head upwards so as her eternally sapphire eyes were locked with the violet of his. She smiled a wanly smile, just to show she wasn't crying- as much as it had hurt to watch her father on the TV...she knew she couldn't have stayed there any longer. It was then that the young woman noticed her bodyguard pulling closer and she tensed a little as she felt his breath on her skin, waiting for their lips to meet only for the tall young man to abruptly pull up short and turn away from her, sighing as he did so.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to-"

The young man was cut off as he felt a delicate hand gripping his wrist, causing him to instinctively turn around and face the girl he had just almost kissed- for weeks he'd wanted to kiss her, but had stopped himself by giving into his conscience. But as he felt her grip loosen, Jase became aware of soft breath warm upon his own skin, pulling closer as Jazira leaned up towards him, offering her lips to him. He slid a hand to her face and brushed it along her delicately soft cheek, feeling her hair tracing along the back of his hand as the kiss deepened and Jase began walking backwards, the young heiress compliantly following him, her arms linked around his broad neck...

**A/n- Thanks a million for reading and please let me know what you though of the chapter huns!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX Thanks again!!**


	17. Backtracking

**Author's Note;** Hey huns, here's the new chapter and I hope you guys like it- sorry about the slight cliffie on the last chapter, lol!!

* * *

The humid climate of the country seemed to take its toll as the two fell back onto the sofa, almost intertwined with each other as a passionate kiss continued to engage their mouths. The temperature within the room continued its rapid rising as Jazira's hand found its way beneath the shirt of her bodyguard…tracing gently across rippling muscles as another battle raged between her tongue and his. And just as the heiress committed her mind to what she was doing, Jazira felt hands on her shoulders, pushing her away gently, yet firmly- breaking the long-held kiss and passion that had accompanied it. With confusion swimming in her sapphire eyes, the young woman bit her lower lip as she spoke.

"Jase?"

For a second or so the teenager thought she had possibly read the signals wrong, but then she chastised herself for contemplating this notion- he'd tried to kiss her first…he'd participated in the kiss…he- he was averting his gaze away from her right now. The striking violet irises were deliberately trained on the wall as the young man sat up from where he'd been lying on the couch…his mind a sudden rush of images on the streets of Los Angeles…of stealing a purse from a middle-aged woman with black hair and deep hazel eyes. She'd followed him down that alley and, although she should have marched him straight to the nearest cop station and turned him in for robbing her, the kindly woman had taken pity on the eleven-year-old and taken him to her home. For three hours he'd sat in that kitchen and watched as the mug of tea she'd given him had turned cold…and then the door had opened and in had walked a tall man, in an intimidating black suit.

"I should have never been assigned as your bodyguard…"

"W…what?"

More images…of the man again- flashing a bemused smile as his green eyes took in the damage the young boy's aim had bestowed upon the humanoid target. Two badges had always been placed on that kitchen table at the end of each day- John and Elisa Smith…the latter an LA Pd cop and her husband an FBI agent. Years passed and the little eleven-year-old pick-pocket matured into a fine adolescent, often glimpsed within the halls of the Federal Bureau of Investigation…overtime, learning the slogan of the almost secret society within the walls- "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity." Happy family was a nice game to play and he'd grown happy with that…until his real family had intervened and callously murdered the one man he'd ever admired- the person who'd trained him as a bodyguard…and the man who'd been his father.

"I can't get involved with charges…"

It was only then that his violet eyes locked with her own gaze and she could see the turmoil in their depths as Jase reached forward a hand and cupped her chin, placing one last, light kiss before pulling away, although his hand remained comfortingly on her cheek as he spoke.

"You don't want me…you weren't thinking of me just now…"

She took a breath to angrily protest at such an outlandish comment, but was cut short by his firm voice, almost pleading with her.

"Don't lie to me, Jazira- I know it's not me you want…"

For a confused second or two, her mind remained in an unknowing limbo that did nothing but to frustrate her immensely until the figurative fog seemingly lifted and his form appeared within her mind- tall, broad-shouldered…with hazel hair, tattoos and slate grey eyes.

"Oh…Jase…Anto-"

He nodded his head in defeat as she said this, voice cracking as she felt a large lump rising in her throat- she'd strung him along like a puppy on a lead this whole time- made him come with her to Egypt and become one of Japan's most wanted fugitives…and for what? A whole lie- she'd thought she'd fallen for him hard, but the truth was she'd already been chasing another dream, and he was all the way back in Japan.

"It's okay…"

And here was her bodyguard; forgiving her for using him repetitively and discarding him just as quickly…and yet he didn't seem to mind that she'd been thinking of his rival whilst kissing him, for the young man had known it before even stepping onto the plane that morning; he'd known she loved him the moment Doujarent had left the Kaiba Mansion. And as he hugged her whilst she cried, Jase wanted so much to say various things Jazira…she didn't know the danger she was in; a danger her family had obviously discovered.

About an hour passed in this silence before his violet eyes glanced down to find the heiress had drifted off to sleep in his arms and the guilt plagued him yet again- he wanted to tell her of everything- including the branded mark that marred his left bicep. Jase looked down at her sleeping form and brushed away a few strands of the dyed-black hair from her forehead, talking lowly as he did so.

"You shouldn't be sorry Jazira…I've tricked you from day one. I've lied, manipulated and endangered you…I drove away the guy you love…I want so much to tell you…to tell you about my childhood under these sands and about my father…but you'd never forgive me for being the son of that bastard, and for that, I apologise to you."

* * *

He slammed the phone down for the umpteenth time that day, cursing the person on the other end of the line…exhaling an exhausted sigh as Noah babbled up at his uncle; the toddler had no idea what was going on; why his daddy and uncle seemed to be so busy today.

"Sorry Seto; Rebecca's taking him home now anyway…"

Mokuba smirked wanly as he bent down and picked up his young son, knowing why his brother was so exasperated; all day long, KaibaCorp had been receiving calls from anonymous people, stating they'd spotted Jazira- but all had turned up as dead-ended leads- it was sick to think that people were so desperate for the money that they'd play with a father's emotions and determination to get his little girl back home. As the phone rang yet again, Mokuba bid his brother goodbye and exited with his son, leaving Seto to answer the still ringing phone.

"This is Seto Kaiba…"

"Mr. Kaiba, my name is Elisa Smith…I saw your broadcast this morning."

"And?"

He was slightly annoyed at this stage of the day- people had been ringing all day, but they'd all fabricated their tales of sighting Jazira all over the country, in a bid to swindle the reward from the rich company-owner, who merely wanted his daughter back home where she belonged.

"You have to be wrong- Jase couldn't be involved in your daughter's disappearance-"

"You have no right-"

"I know about the Aralanti and what really happened to your girlfriend all those years ago- the Clan killed my husband."

"Pull the other one…"

"Jase is Bakura's son, I know that- but he's lived in America since he was eleven; my husband and I adopted him-"

The phone was slammed down with a lot of force; whether this woman was speaking the truth or not, Seto did not need to hear someone defending that deceptive dog.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"

Elisa Smith shouted loudly a she slammed down the phone upon hearing the line go dead; she'd just spent major bucks on that cross-country call and the ignorant prick wouldn't even hear her out! With a steadying sigh, the woman tied up her long ebony locks and sat down on the sofa, running her left hand over her tied-back tresses as she tried to decide upon the next course of action.

Finding Jase on the streets that day had been nothing short of a Godsend to John and her as their marriage had been on the rocks for months at that stage…with another heavy sigh, the Latino woman glanced up at the numerous pictures that adorned the walls of the living room- frozen seconds in time that she often pleaded to for guidance. They'd been a perfect little family once- she'd moved up from Mexico and had met John…married young and had a little boy and girl, Samuel and Carolyn…Carolyn had been four when she'd died of Bacterial Meningitis, after that their marriage had been strained somewhat, but Samuel had held them together for the next couple of years. When he was eleven, the pre-teen had been playing soccer in the local park with his friends when the ball had been accidentally kicked onto the busy road…Sam had run out and retrieved the ball, only three foot from the kerb when the pick-up truck had materialized on the road…her perfect little boy had been pronounced dead at the scene. Ten months passed and the marriage had broken down completely- counselling suggested having another child…but a scan showed excessive scar tissue in the womb, crossing out any chance of having another kid. Another five months dragged by and it seemed divorce papers were imminent, until she'd noticed her purse was missing that faithful Saturday afternoon, and followed the boy down the alley, cornering him. From there had spawned a new era in her life as many things had come to light- of the infamous Aralanti and the now opposing Marthui; Jase seemed well-informed about them…and then he'd shown his back to them- covered in tattoos of hieroglyphs. Years passed and a new lease of life entered the marriage of John and Elisa Smith as people became accustomed to the young boy they now fostered…as he grew up into a fine young man, many were expressively happy for the couple, as they'd had such a tragic past with little Carolyn and Sam…and then Jase had been glimpsed more and more within the walls of John's workplace, even so much as to begin Bodyguard training with the FBI at the tender age of fourteen and completing the five-year-curriculum in only four, becoming the youngest person on the FBI payroll.

Then she'd went shopping one afternoon and returned home to find her kitchen a mess of blood as John's lifeless body lay on the tiled floor- Jase had arrived home before the cops had arrived- he'd taken one look at the only Dad he'd ever had and muttered _Aralanti_…then apologised.

But she didn't blame him, and never would.

"Ugh…Jase you better have a good excuse when I find you, boy."

With that, the LA Pd cop grabbed a jacket, her passport, keys and purse…then walked out the door, hailed a cab and headed for the airport- do or die, she wasn't losing another child, or another member of her family to the Aralanti.

**A/n- Well, please let me know what you all thought of this chappie, hunis!! Kas, :-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	18. Followers

**Author's Note;** Hey huns, so sorry about the wait- I had some family stuff to deal with, along with things at home to do...and then I'm going on hols for two weeks next week, so I doubt I'll get another chapter up before then, but whenever I get the next one up, I promise it'll be the best yet! I would have felt guilty for keeping you guys waiting any longer, but I had to pack aswell tonight, but here's the newest chapter, and please tell me what you think hunis!! XxxxxxxxxxxX

This chapter focuses solely on Tsara and Anto as I've been neglecting their characters for want of Jazira and Jase...also, I needed to re-introduce them as they'll play major parts in the upcoming chapters.

* * *

Her father was barely in the ground three days and the girl knew she should be at home with her mother of all places, not standing in the crowded arrivals terminal of an airport in an entirely different country…her Mom would most likely blow a gasket when she discovered her daughter gone. One thing the seventeen-year-old noticed was how easily she seemed to fit into the crowd- everyone was tanned and her Ganguro appearance seemed to mask the girl's Japanese origins.

A fish out of water- that was exactly what Tsara looked and felt like as the crowd milled thicker around her, elbowing the unknowing girl and shoving past her in a bid to reach their awaiting family members…something she was lacking. Although her best friend was as good as family…and yet it seemed all the more insulting that the girl, who was equivalent of a sister, had digressed from letting her know about the country-hop to Egypt.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

The question jolted the teen from her reveries as she turned around to see a middle-aged woman surveying her with a concerned air. When the girl didn't answer, the tanned woman, dressed in the uniform of this airport, took notice of her prevalent cheekbones and angles eyes.

"Konichiwa? Anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?"

"Hai...I mean yes- I speak fluent English…I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"You look a little lost sweetie- if you like I can take you to the Help Desk?"

"No, really- I'm fine…"

Tsara trailed off as the lady's hand encircled her wrist and attempted to pull her along to the afore-mentioned Help Desk…nobody knew she was here and she wanted to keep it that way, or else the Japanese news crews would here within the hour. A trip to the help desk would only result in a call home to Japan and Tsara certainly didn't want that happening. The girl considered snapping her wrist free and making a run for it…but where would she go? How far would she make it before the airport security perceived her as a threat? With no options, Tsara began to allow the woman to lead the way, until she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and screwed her eyes shut.

_That_'_s __it_; _I_'_m __caught_! _I bet it_'_s Security or even some of KaibaCorp_'_s __goons_…

"It's alright- she was waiting for me; I had to use the bathroom- sorry about that, honey…"

There was a strong arm deliberately placed in a loving fashion around her slim waist as the other stayed where it was on her shoulder- a shiver ran down Tsara's spine as she recognized the voice in an instant. The middle-aged airport worker looked back around upon hearing the voice and smiled as she took in the sight of the handsome young man standing behind the girl.

"My apologies…I thought the young lady was lost. Are you two honeymooning?"

"Not quite yet, but maybe someday…"

To cement the illusion, the lad bent down slightly and planted a light kiss on her cheek, with Tsara leaning comfortably into his hold- her heart about to explode as the woman smiled all the more kindly- buying into the 'young love' in front of her, before moving on with another kind word of apology and an almost-motherly smile. As soon as she disappeared into the crowd, Tsara felt her feet turn to jelly beneath her as she half-collapsed from relief.

"Whoa- you okay?"

"Anto…you're one hell of a good liar- d'you know that? I thought I was done for!"

The teen began laughing lightly as she hyperactively hugged the French youth. Anto merely smirked as she did so- it was only luck he'd seen her; his plane had only just landed a mere ten minutes ago and she'd managed to catch his eye as the woman had attempted to drag the girl across the terminal.

"What are you doing here anyway, Tsara?"

"I've been watching the news for the last coupe of days and had to do something…I know I should be at hoe…I mean Dad's only buried…"

With that the Ganguro gal trailed off and sniffed lightly- not really trusting herself to speak much more before the imminent tears arrived once more. It'd been like that for the past couple of days- she'd be fin until someone mentioned something or she had to talk in a sentimental way…then the knot formed and the girl found herself inextricably choked up.

"I'm sorry to hear bout your Dad, Tsara…really, I am. C'mon…"

* * *

The seventeen-year-old couldn't help but smile as she looked at the jeep parked in front of her- Anto opening the driver's door quite purposefully. He'd taken her to the café in the airport and let her talk a bit- something the teen was eternally grateful for- during the last number of days everyone had been so adamant in offering their condolences, and with the constant pestering from the media, the girl hadn't had a chance to talk to _anybody_. She'd told him the real story- her mother and father had always been believed to be divorced or at least separated…but it was no such thing- her Dad had lived in Domino up until four years ago, but his sickness had worsened and Nagasaki had offered the much-needed facilities to treat him…she'd stayed in Domino High and become friends with Jazira through her mother's job. Christmas time and any other holidays had been the girl's chance to visit her father- something that had hurt her as she'd always been 'Daddy's little girl' when young and had shadowed him almost everywhere.

"D'you even know where we're going?"

Anto nodded his hazel head and turned the key in the ignition- Doujarent. Inc had a rather tiny brand located in Eastern Cairo- only a mere office or two, but it worked wonders for international relations. As soon as word had spread across all of Japan about Jazira Kaiba's suspected kidnapping at the hands of her personal bodyguard, he'd secretly contacted the small branch and asked for all persons to keep an eye out for a person matching Jase's description- a day or so ago, he'd received the call, and also that one of the now-retired Tombkeepers, who was once a close friend of his mother's had tailed them to a small house out by the sands south of the great Sphinx.

"Anto…Jazira told me something once…though it was in confidence…"

The lad's grey irises looked to the rear-view mirror as he pulled out of the car park and onto the road, but then glanced at Tsara, to show he was listening to her aswell. Raised hazel eyebrow seemed to give the girl permission to continue and she did so with a growing smirk, knowing the words were only said because Jazira had needed to tell someone, ere days before news reached of her Dad's failing health.

"Well…she told me about you guys kissing…and then that she'd fancied you since you'd arrived at the formal all those months ago."

Tsara smiled proudly as she saw the shock in the youth's eyes- boys just seemed a whole lot slower when it came to relationships and people liking one another. To her, it'd been blatantly obvious since the very first night at the formal that Anto and Jazira would make the perfect couple…but, although Jazira had sometimes confided in her with little bits and pieces about her time spent with him, Anto just never noticed how much the KaibaCorp heir was crushing on him…and Jazira never seemed to notice how many questions her best friend asked about Jase over and over, and how awkward the girl acted in the bodyguard's presence.

**A/n- Well, please let me know what you guys thought of this chapter!! So sorry again about the wait, but it souldn't really be helped- sorry! XxxxxxxxxxxX**


	19. Reclaiming

**Author's Note;** To answer your first question; Yes!! She lives! Lol! ) Sorry for the reeeaaaaalllllyyy long wait hunis, but school is a real bummer this year and so is work, so I'm lucky if I get ten minutes on my laptop a day ... it actually has cobwbs on it, lol! But I think I've rekindled my love for this story, yay!! :-) So please let me know what you think! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

It must have been nearing midday as he stood by the window, staring out at the hazy view of the desert, a warm breeze blowing over the visible dunes. She was still asleep on the couch and the young man had no intention of waking her, not when it was the first time she'd slept in almost two days. The television had been rife with more and more press conferences from KaibaCorp representatives, mostly Roland. News channels had been alive with reported sightings of the missing heiress, not to mention the hype that had built up on You tube - people were even compiling tributes to Jazira as they believed her to be in grave danger from him, even dead as she'd been "missing" for four days now … two floral tributes had been started; one outside the gates of the Kaiba Mansion, the other at the doors of the KaibaCorp building in Domino. It was amazing how the public pulled together when they felt like it … and almost inspirational to watch.

"Wouldn't you look at the little thing?"

A shuffle of feet was heard, followed by the smarmy, cynical voice. Jase spun around, snapped from his reveries, to see four people standing in the living room, one of which was staring down at Jazira, his glare heavily laced with contempt for the teen. With training being put to action, the young man's hand automatically shot for the handgun on his waist, only for the teenager to be halted in his tracks.

"Try it and we kill him … you don't want that now, do you?"

At this, Jase's violet eyes shifted to the two people holding onto the fourth, with them pushing forward and forcibly restraining their prisoner, with a knife to his tanned throat. In the few months he had been Jazira's bodyguard, the young man had come to know this person as one of the heiress' twin uncles. Hesitating, Jase sensed another portal materializing behind him and, unable to react fast enough, suddenly felt a knife against his own throat, mirroring the predicament of the other captive. The gun dropped noisily to the floor with a loud thud.

Her blue eyes flickered open at the noise … all the girl saw were the branding tattoos. With a speed instinctive to her, Jazira stood to her feet and kicked out at the nearest member, hitting him square in the stomach, only to have her left arm grabbed and bent behind her back with an alarming force that made her cry out.

"Jazira! Don't fight back!"

"D … Daknar, what did they do to you?"

It was him, a little thinner than he normally was, but it was definitely her uncle. But he'd never looked like he did now, never once could she recollect him being in such bad shape - Daknar's lip was split, one of his eyes black and Jazira could pick upon the bruises that marred his dark skin.

"Awww, the little family reunion. I guess you're just lucky we're not here for you, Princess …"

The leader of the small group of Aralanti had the type of voice that was constantly in the red-zone of arrogant, belittling anyone he addressed, whether intentional or not … but something struck her as strange; if they weren't here for her, what other options were there? Bakura had murdered her mother and had tried to kill her aswell - as horrible as it seemed - she'd expected them to be after her.

The stout leader saw her confusion and flashed an evil little smirk, whilst he dealt Daknar a particularly harsh blow to the side of the head, a blow that had an unknown history behind it for these two men knew each other very well, yet Jazira didn't know - it was from a time before her age … the young father swayed on the spot and spat out a wad of blood, mumbling under his breath as he did so.

"Koos …"

Ignoring the muttered insult from the Hirotsh boy, the leader fellow returned his hard stare to secret heir of his country, revelling in her apparent confusion, tainted by her hidden fear.

"We'll be coming for you soon enough, little one, but for now, Bakura wants to have a chat with his little boy…"

Jazira followed the man's inclination, only to find it resting on the person she'd least suspected. They weren't here for him; they come to reclaim their member … she said nothing as Jase held her betrayed gaze for a moment or two before dropping it to the ground and allowing himself to be guided to the nearest portal - what use was there in staying now? She was going to hate him and she had every right to.

In less than an instant they were gone and she was alone in that room, her mind reeling over - he was Bakura's son … she'd trusted him for months and let him guard her … oh Ra, she'd _kissed_ him. Why wasn't she crying hysterically? Or screaming? Had she secretly known deep down ... or was it just shock? Jazira opted for the latter choice as she noticed his phone was lying on the sideboard and, almost automatically, walked over and picked it up, dialling in a number and pressing the green call button.

* * *

Kayreena paced by the door, leaning in to spy on her two boys … Odion and Akha were sound asleep, even though it was only gone eight o'clock - the boys were wrecked; they'd been up early to visit their uncle Saheed in hospital, then the two had been adamant about going to the Marthui base in Domino to see if there'd been any news on their dad … Her two gorgeous little boys. Five days he'd been missing now and the two knew something was definitely up - they'd been asking incessantly for their father, so much so that Denian had taken them off her hands for a while, but Ishizu was home from hospital tonight, thankfully doing fine. Saheed was to spend a couple more days under observation before the doctors discharged him, but he was fine and that was all that mattered. But _her_ husband wasn't home … With a shaking of her head and a long sigh, Kayreena leaned against the door frame and looked again to her sons. Only five years old and already skilled in their Clan ancestry. Akha was the oldest, by four minutes; he'd been named Tau when born, meaning "Lion" in Egyptian Arabic, but Daknar had playfully nicknamed him _Akha_, deriving from the name Wakhashem, meaning "little fool", omitting the _W_ and _shem_ part of the name, resulting in a nickname that had stuck - the only time Akha was identified by Tau was on his birth cert, or when he was in a lot of trouble. Odion seemed to be the quieter of the two and Kayreena had lost count of how many times people had asked her if he'd been named after Ishizu's foster-brother, but the fact was that he hadn't; the name _Odion_ meant "born of twins" in Egyptian Arabic, a name she and Daknar had thought befitting for him.

The two little boys took after their father and uncle - mirror images of each other; they'd inherited their dad's blue-grey eyes, just as all of the Hirotsh boys had, and their hair a mix of her dark hazel and Daknar's sandy shade. Nostalgia took hold as Akha shifted in his sleep … she'd always been part of the Clan; her adoptive-father was a high-up member, promoted to Elder status just prior to the break-away of the Marthui, from what she'd heard he was now one of Bakura's top advisors - a stout man with a belittling voice, even when he didn't intend it. Her mother had been married-in from the ordinary streets of Cairo where she'd had her four little girls, with another well on the way. Runihura Sediki had been on a reconnaissance mission when he'd spotted the poverty-stricken family of females and taken a shine to the mother. The Clan were only too happy for him to marry her, as it brought a fresh influx of female genes to the Aralanti. As a high-up name in the Aralanti, Runihura Sediki's family had been of high status, yet not as high as the Hirotsh, Aknu being the leader back then and, as head of the Hirotsh family, he'd arranged the marriage of the newly-born Kayreena to Daknar; a match that had worked out well, although Aknu had not survived long enough to see his nephew wed. The Sediki family had been honoured to have their youngest betrothed to a Hirotsh, even if she was just adopted, but adoption was as good as blood within the Clan, for how else were females brought into the folds, other than a binding adoption?

But then the day had arrived of the break-away. Her adoptive father had disowned her, as had her mother - her four older sisters, now all married and with three or four sons each, had tried to persuade her to stay, well three out the four had - Amara had seen no problem in the youngest breaking away, until she had realised that Daknar would be leaving too. Amara was a year older than her and was originally supposed to be bestowed to Daknar, until Kayreena had been born, and plans were made for the younger child to marry the Hirotsh boy. And now he was missing, reclaimed by the Clan they'd broken bonds with, but no one ever escaped the Clan; Kisara's parents had learned that the hard way … would they all be hunted down now? She hadn't even had time to tell him her news …

Her mobile ringing in her jeans pocket stirred the young mother from her reveries … it was almost nine by now and she hadn't been expecting any calls from anyone - Denian was working closely with Seto and the KaibaCorp security teams to track down that blond boy and find Jazira before Bakura did. The Tombkeepers and Marthui were commandeering reconnaissance missions into peripheral Aralanti territory in the hopes of divining some kind of clue as to what was the Clan's next move; by now, they'd know Jazira was way out of bounds of the spells surrounding her home, leaving her in the open. For one foolish second, Kayreena's heart leapt at the thought of her husband being on the other end of the line and she could finally tell him the secret she'd been keeping for the past week … but instead of Daknar, another voice spoke, one she hadn't been expecting.

"Jazira! Where are you? Are you hurt?"

"Kayreena, Daknar's alive, I thought you should know …"

"No, don't hang up, wait!"

The line went dead in less than an instant. The call had been so quick, Kayreena had to question if she'd just imagined it. But … Daknar was alive. Was he with her?

With no more than a second though, the Egyptian woman looked down at her phone and scrolled through he numbers, finding the one she wanted and hit the dial button.

**A/n- Thanks for taking the time to read my fic hunis and I hoped you enjoyed it, so please let me know what you thought! XxxxxxxxxxxX Btw- the meanings for the names are fact - I looked them up on a very good site, if anyone wants the name of that site, then pm me and I'll gladly find the link for you! ) As for the word "Koos" ... hehehe, whoever finds the translation wins a cookie! ;)**


	20. An Ambush

**Author's Note;** Hey guys!! I finally got this chapter done - been working on it for about a week now and I meant to put it up yesterday but I didn't get it finished in time on account of a school trip to a college and my 17th Birthday!! Anyways, hope you guys like this one and let me know what you think!!

* * *

She'd only ever been to this house once before and that had been almost four years ago at this stage; it was a wonder the woman still knew the way out here from the airport, especially since she didn't have the boy with her this time around. Her key still worked in the lock; a good sign.

The hall was still the same as Elisa remembered and for a brief second she wished she could've known Zalika Neshum, Jase's biological mother. The Mexican woman knew the story of Zalika via her son who had, over time, revealed all about his past.

Zalika had been the only daughter of a very high up Egyptian politician; her family had never been poor, her name reflecting that point, meaning "well-born". She went to college and excelled at languages, securing a high-profile job as an international translator. But therein lied the true extent of the Aralanti's influence; she still managed to fall for Bakura, when the hypocritical temporary leader of the Clan was supposed to be faithfully waiting for his betrothed to come of age; only a mere three years before he killed the girl in cold blood.

Zalika had fallen pregnant, only to discover of the true nature concerning Bakura's "family" - the young woman had fled and hid, using her job as an interpreter to constantly move around the globe, finally settling back home in Egypt when her son was turning three, by which time Bakura's would-be wife, Kisara Hirotsh, had given birth to a little baby girl and was gearing up to lose her life.

Elisa shook her head as she ran through the account in her head - Jase sure had made John's job a whole lot easier; the Marthui weren't the only ones after Bakura … and yet her husband's colleagues were now focusing on the completely wrong person in their latest lead, something she'd been trying to prevent for the last week or so whilst FBI agents travelled to Japan in a bid to prepare for the seizure.

The tanned woman carried on through the short hall feeling all kinds of nostalgia coming back to her as she saw a few pictures on the wall of a young woman and a little blond boy. The living room was exactly as she remembered, save for one detail; a figure sitting on the floor beneath the window, her knees drawn up to her chest, and face buried in the person's arms. Then the girl looked up with striking blue eyes - the same cobalt hue of those being showed non-stop worldwide for the last week or so, though her hair was much different, but those eyes were unmistakable, as was the inherited tan.

"Hey - don't you care the whole damn world is looking for you, Ms. Kaiba? By the way, where's Jase?"

Elisa's voice reflected her indifference as she turned her back on the teenager and sifted through one of the drawers - Jase had told her there were weapons here a while ago and the cop found herself hoping they were still stored somewhere in the house.

The blue eyes raised up and looked at this complete stranger; the woman had a tan but not that of Egypt; this one was a little darker, maybe Hispanic … still though, that didn't rule out an enemy especially if she was searching for that lying, deceptive person.

"Who're you?"

"I'm his mother-"

"He told me his mother was dead."

The quick, cutting response from the prone girl caused Elisa to unintentionally glance over her shoulder, her hands pausing in mid air as they checked behind pictures. Those infamous cobalt eyes displayed a look of utter repulsion and despair - portrayed so strongly that she could almost feel the emotions. With a sad smirk, Elisa walked the short distance to where Jazira Kaiba sat on the ground and, raising her hands slightly to signify peace sat down on the carpet opposite the girl … maybe this might work out after all.

"You know he's Bakura's son, don't you?"

A quick, barely noticeable nod was all the response she received, answered by a sigh as the cop looked up at the ceiling fleetingly.

"Well … I'm not his real mother; his real mother was killed by the Aralanti."

"You know about them, what else do you know?"

The Mexican woman smiled slightly as she saw the interest sparked within the blue irises, but then took a deep breath as she thought momentarily about the long story that had taken her months to comprehend, compressing it down to a few breaths.

"I know about your mom and dad hooking up and Bakura killing her. The Hirotsh family stand now as the Marthui against the Clan and you're in shit if Bakura finds you here, sweetie."

"How do you know so much?"

"Jase mostly, but this comes in handy…"

Elisa shrugged her response before reaching to her side and picking up the brown file she had carried into the house with her - a pretty important looking document. As Jazira raised an eyebrow at the file, the LA cop smiled a guilty smile; she shouldn't have taken this from the offices, but better to ask forgiveness than permission.

"It's an FBI dossier on Bakura and the Aralanti - you guys aren't the only ones looking for him. The US and United Nations have been hunting him for a while now but they've been unable to locate him … which brings me to my next point, and why I'm so glad you're here."

Jazira watched as this strange woman flicked through the brown file before coming to a stop at some loose, unbound pages that were obviously not belonged to the dossier, but to another one.

"I tried to get his file aswell, but it's under higher security than even Bakura's. The FBI and United Nations have everything wrong - they can't touch Bakura, so they're focusing their search on the next best thing."

Elisa shook her head as she handed the profiling sheets to the dubious young girl, already knowing them to be too late to stop anything, for Japan was six hours ahead of Egypt.

* * *

With a mixed groan of fatigue and utter annoyance, Denian took his mobile from his pocket and turned it off, falling back onto the sofa as he did so. Why the hell were they still calling him? Kayreena had called a few hours ago; Jazira had been in touch and she was stating Daknar was still alive, all they could surmise was that the Clan still had hold of him.

Within a half-an-hour of the call Tombkeepers stationed in Cairo had reported activity in a house near the desert, and were currently en route with Marik to the designated location for reconnaissance. The Marthui were adding their talents to the mission at the moment, minus their leader who, on a unanimous vote, had decided tonight fit for him to have a night off, as the last one had been interrupted by Bakura causing the limo crash that had almost cost Jazira her life. Naturally, he'd objected and had claimed responsibilities to the search, and yet somehow here he was at home with KaibaCorp security members ringing non-stop; Mokuba had already announced Roland as the head of the latest search, but word was travelling slow with all the hype accompanying contact from Jazira.

Seems Saheed had only just been released from hospital, Takhar was commandeering the Marthui tonight; though moving on in age, the experienced man had been invaluable through the years, and had lent a hand with the twins when they were younger, after their parents had died, tied to do so by blood; he being the third of the Hirotsh brothers- Takhar, Aknu and Kirej. The older had had to watch his brothers die; Aknu deflecting from the Clan in a bid to protect his daughter and Kirej meeting his end on a botched mission leaving three sons behind … and now it seemed as though the past was replaying itself with the three younger Hirotsh boys - the eldest was helpless as his two younger brothers seemingly suffered for no reason.

"They're out for the count."

The soft voice served in jolting Denian from his thoughts as he sat up and looked over the back of the sofa, trademark-coloured eyes finding her emerald ones; the boys had been on the go all day; from Herani to Rebecca and back home again as he and Ishizu went about mobilizing as many of their families as they could- it was about time the two got some sleep. They'd be like antichrists come morning, but for now there was a rare peace and calm in the house that was intangibly rare.

"Sorry … I'll take them somewhere tomorrow."

Ishizu's eyes softened as Denian lay back down on the sofa, a slight cringe on his face as his eyes filled with guilt; she couldn't remember the last time Jacob and Kirin had gotten to spend some time with their Dad - they knew he was busy, but still … Kirin was four, he didn't understand the true implications of his father's job, but Jacob was ten years old and even now, Ishizu could see the way he'd stopped asking when his dad was going to take him to the park or the cinema, by now even Denian was noticing this but it wasn't his fault that the Marthui ate up so much of his life, was it?

With a short inner debate, the woman decided she might aswell let him now and get it over and done with instead of the morning or a later date.

"Kayreena called me-"

Ishizu didn't get to finish as her husband sat bolt upright; expecting bad news on Daknar or Jazira's part.

"She's two months pregnant, Denian …"

"That's all we need…ugh, I'm sorry…"

He'd noticed the withering look in her eyes; what was he supposed to say? The father stood and walked to his wife, flashing an apologetic smirk as he wrapped his arms around her waist drawing closer, only to draw back sharply and hiss in pain.

"Denian?"

Ishizu's eyes shot to where her husband was covering his right bicep with his left hand, now tentatively taking it away, only to see a graze wound with blood working its way down the arm - the open window allowed for the bullet now embedded in the wall. Just as her husband looked up from the unexpected wound, shock evident in his eyes, the front door was forced open and a number of men entered.

"Gag him, now before he uses any magic!"

Without time to react, Denian found himself on the floor, with one or two men pinning him there as another attempted to gag him, but by now crying could be heard as Kirin woke up, rousing his older brother; the two appearing in the living room to see their parents being ambushed, but these weren't Aralanti. With a grunt, Denian bit down hard on the hand of the person trying to gag him and kicked out, throwing the men off of his back. What he saw upon gaining his footing was a surprising sight - Jacob attempting to summon a portal, but the boy hadn't had enough training to completely manifest one yet. Outstretching a hand, Denian aimed at the small beginnings of the portal and widened it.

"Go-"

Any other words were smothered as one of the invading strangers managed to get a cloth, laced with chloroform over his mouth and nose. Blackness came quickly as Denian once more found himself on the floor though this time his head colliding sharply as his body became limp … but these weren't Aralanti…

**A/n- Hope you liked it guys and please let me know what you thought!!Thanks again for reading my fic!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	21. A Downfall?

**Author's Note:** Hey there guys, sorry for the long wait with this!!! I just updated three stories in as many days; I'm on a roll, lol!! Anyways, I really hope you like this chapter. The next one will be better, I promise!!! And I swear I won't make you wait as long as you did for this one either!! XxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

Footsteps came running up the hall until the door opened unto the living room. The teenager was immediately on her feet as she recognised the blond-haired Tombkeeper who stood there: any hesitance or guilt was momentarily destroyed as only one thought formulated in Jazira Kaiba's panicked mind.

"Marik, we have to get back, now!"

The violet eyes were momentarily stunned at the sudden appearance of her, but Jazira thrusting some official-looking pages into his hands cause Marik Ishtar to look down and immediately lock gazes with the young heiress. This was bad, and the noise of more people entering the house made matters all the more worse.

"Tsara-"

"Don't ever run off like that again! Are you brain dead? What kind of heir are you? What are Egypt and KaibaCorp gonna do when you take the helm? Baka dearu!"

"Tsara, I need to breathe, and I'm not an idiot!"

With an involuntary smile on her face, Jazira pushed her friend off of her; having been knocked off her feet by the Ganguro gal's sudden rush forward, and almost deafened by her onslaught of questions. There was no more time left for catching up as another voice spoke.

"Shit … are they for real?"

The slate grey eyes were reading the profile pages over Marik's shoulder, registering the one name that appeared again and again in the detailed plan of action, pilfered from the most secretive offices of the FBI. How could an agency like the FBI get it so damn wrong?

"We need to get you back; there are Aralanti on the way. Whose she?"

Marik was eyeing the now-standing Elisa Smith with suspicion. Jazira turned, only now remembering the woman to be there. Although she barely knew her and the fact that the woman would more than likely defend Jase, the young Kaiba still felt compelled to vouch for her.

"She's with me, Marik."

And with that, the girl's Aralanti blood came to surface as she extended a hand and summoned a dark, misty portal, gesturing for all to follow, all the while keeping her guilty eyes diverted from the tall French lad.

* * *

Ishizu held her boys closer to her as they emerged from the portal. It was the small base. Though rarely used now, the Marthui and Tombkeepers still maintained the small base in Domino city. The building had once served as a residence for the early incarnation of the Marthui eighteen years ago.

With a shaking breath, the attractive woman lifted her youngest son up onto her hip, keeping her hand on Jacob's shoulder. This wasn't right. What had happened in their home? Those were no Aralanti operatives; they'd been Caucasian - the majority of Aralanti members were of Egyptian heritage and had a tanned complexion. They'd also had guns; none of Clan utilized such weapons - only short range, traditional and ethnic weapons were used.

"Jay, what's wrong?"

Ishizu looked down as her ten-year-old son had momentarily frozen to the spot. Jacob, or Jay as he was called for short, seemed to have inherited a lot more of the Hirotsh genes than Kirin. The youngster had already shown an aptitude for magic and had been taught a few simple spells by his father. A cold, callous laugh emanated from the darkened corner of the deserted base.

"He's just like his daddy."

Almost on instinct, Ishizu backtracked, dragging Jacob with her as she still carried Kirin. A split second later, she felt her back collide with something, or rather, some_one_. A hand clamped over her mouth as the white-haired leader spoke in her ear.

"Now, now … looks as though the FBI got it wrong, hmmm?"

More people appeared out of portals, surrounding her and her two sons. She recognised no faces whatsoever. Denian or the twins might have had a chance, but she wasn't Aralanti-born. These were the people who had attempted to kill her when she was only a young child. Jacob was torn from her grip and Kirin wrenched from her arms. Another black, misty portal appeared staright in front of her and Bakura had pushed her through it.

* * *

A white, blinding light was being shone straight into his eyes, dazzling them as his head pounded with an unbearable ache. He'd only woken five minutes ago, in a strange little room that he'd since discovered was a maximum security cell. As soon as the people guarding outside had realized the man was awake, they'd entered and dragged him out. He was still gagged as they'd roughly shoved him into a hard, uncomfortable chair, a small table before him. A suited man was standing at the other side.

"Denian Hirotsh."

With an indignant glare, the father looked up as his name was spoken. Where the hell was he anyway? More importantly, where were Ishizu and the boys? As he kept his gaze steady, Denian noticed the slightly tanned young woman standing behind the suited man. She nodded her head lightly in his direction. The suited man, having not noticed the communication between employee and captive, indicated for another of the people in this small room to remove the gag.

"One syllable of Egyptian and we'll shoot you dead on the spot, understand?"

"Bite me."

The suited guy was a young, blond man, younger than him by ten years at least. He was a tall enough, but Denian, who towered an inch or so above even Seto Kaiba, knew this pencil-pusher was going to regret storming his family like that. The blond sat at the opposite side of the table and threw down a few brown files onto it, nodding for him to pick them up. Denian did just that, read the first line beside his own picture and laughed out loud in a sarcastic way.

"Are you serious? Me, still leading the Aralanti on the sly? I never even led them in the first place you little shit!"

Obviously, the blond was not at all impressed by his answer and ordered the captive to be brought back to his cell; maybe he'd be a little more willing of the truth in a couple of hours. It was the tanned girl to escort him back. She then ordered the additional guards to leave.

"Denian, my name's Keyla; I'm a Tombkeeper. Your wife and boys were taken by Bakura after they escaped the ambush on your house. Marik found Jazira - he's bringing her back as we speak. You should know that the Aralanti synchronised their attacks with the FBI ambush. They've taken Takhar and numerous others and Bakura has announced the downfall of the Marthui. They won't gag you in this cell; it has been fortified against any spells, but just wait for a few hours. I'll be the one he'll send to get you. When I open the cell door, then summon a portal and I'll claim you were too strong for me."

And with that whispered explanation and plan, the young woman was already closing the cell door and half-way down the corridor, leaving him to reel for the next few hours. Bakura had Ishizu and the boys.

**A/n- Well, please let me know what you thought of this one guys!! Thanks for taking the time to read it! XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	22. Captives

**_Author's Note:_** Hey guys!! This is officially the longest chapter I've written for this fic, lol! So it goes out to Andrew because I promised him that I'd try and get it up soon and bring his fav character back into it. So, I hope you all enjoy!!! XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Oh, just a little Arabic glossary to help a bit;

'Am = Uncle (on father's side)

Koos = cunt

Ab = father

Um = mother

Ebn el Metanaka = Son of a bitch.

* * *

"Here; you can have some company!"

The young man scowled as he heard the familiar, belittling voice of his own father-in-law. He hated this damn cell; the same type Kisara had been locked away in for months whilst she was pregnant with Jazira. Irony of ironies, the youth, now eighteen years older, was imprisoned in one of the same reprimand cells he'd rescued his little cousin from.

"There'll be another after these two, so don't get too comfortable, boy!"

The dim light bulb swung loosely in its socket as the small door of the cell was pulled open, two small figures were thrust in, and the door slammed shut again, with an alarming deliberate force. Daknar groaned as he heard feet scuffling around the stone floor. He'd had four cellmates when this nightmare had begun over a week ago. Torture had seen fit to it that those men had perished horrifying deaths at the hands of the Aralanti interrogators. No torture for him though, no; Runihura Sediki was having way too much fun with a beating now and then, but never man on son-in-law; always with two other guys holding the Marthui boy back, until they had to hold him up.

A quiet, yet pathetic little sniff brought Daknar Hirotsh back to his meagre senses, followed by a small whimper that allowed a sob to force itself out.

"Shush …"

He knew that voice, and he knew the whimper aswell and, as the small light bulb swung weakly over towards their corner of the cell, Daknar felt his breath hitch in his throat as he stared at his two nephews, Jay holding his four-year-old brother on his hip, with his jacket draped around the smaller boy. Kirin was crying and wiping at his eyes with his little fists. Though his broken ribs pained him, the man was already halfway across the small cell. The mirroring blue-grey eyes recognised him immediately and the young Kirin outstretched his arms to his uncle, wanting to be lifted up, calling to his uncle in the Arabic he knew as his first language - the little boy had only just started learning a few English words.

"Daknar, 'Am, 'Am!"

"Jay, what happened?"

The ten-year-old Jacob flashed a wanly smirk as Daknar took Kirin from him and blinked back a few tears. But they weren't tears of sadness; these tears were laced with pain, the same pained tears that were now rolling down his younger brother's cheeks. The father watched as his eldest nephew kept his right hand tentatively on his left bicep; his jacket having been given to his little brother - the father could well-remember doing the exact same when he was Jay's age.

"Show me your left arm … Jacob, now."

The stern note entering his uncle's voice told Jacob that this was no time to act the tough kid, especially when Daknar had just called him by his full name - he was the one to start calling him Jay in the first place. Grimacing slightly at the still flaring pain, the youth removed his hand and revealed his arm.

"Koos!"

Daknar knew swearing would do no help as he stared at the vividly black tattoo that stood risen from the kid's tanned skin, its outlines a violet red. The child's left arm was now permanently marred; he was branded at ten, even Jazira had waited until she was sixteen to get hers done, but this was different - Jay had been branded with the Aralanti mark, not Marthui; a poignant stab meant for Denian. With a sudden trepidation building up, Daknar looked to the still whimpering Kirin in his arms and took the little boy's left arm out from the sleeve of his older brother's jacket. The bastard had tattooed a four-year-old kid aswell …

"Men with guns came to our house and took Ab, we made it to the small base, but then he showed up and took Um; Ebn el Metanaka!"

As Jay relayed all that had happened in a jumbled rush of English and Arabic, Daknar placed Kirin down and walked over to where the Aralanti had _kindly_ supplied him with a bucket of allegedly fresh water. There were a few rags strewn about that he picked up and dunked into the water, motioning for the two boys to come over to him. As they approached, Daknar wrung out the rags and started to wash down the violating tattoos, or else they'd scab over and could possibly become infected. This was real bad; Denian was taken by some unknown faction to them and now Ishizu was on the missing list aswell - she was a Tombkeeper in the Aralanti base; he had to find her and quick at that. As he continued to wash the brand on Kirin's arms, Daknar spoke lowly, looking to Jay as Kirin could barely speak a few words of English, let alone understand the spoken form.

"You need to stop panicking; your Arabic is slipping into your English, and watch your language aswell! Your mother'll kill me if she hears you swearing like that. Look; I don't know how, but I'm gonna get you two out here-"

The rest of his words were cut-off as the small door to the cell was pulled again and the same, belittling voice could be heard laughing as he called out.

"Told you that you'd have another friend to keep you company, Daknar boy!"

Another Clan member roughly pushed a person through the door and allowed for it to be slammed shut again. This new person was evidently after suffering a mother of beatings as he or she immediately fell to the abrasive stony ground of the cell without even trying to gain footing or balance. The bulb started its swinging again; set off by the force of the slamming door. Backwards and forwards, again and again until the momentum had built enough to allow it swing all the way away from the uncle and his two nephews. Blond hair and telltale violet eyes. He hadn't known the kid's identity until the failed reconnaissance mission to the Millennium Items' resting place; only since being taken to the base, had Daknar discovered the young bodyguard's true parentage. He was enraged at first, but over a week of constant beatings and solitude did wonders for a temper.

The kid was in shit - cuts here and there, not to mention a nasty gash over his left eye that was allowing for the rivulet of blood creeping its way down his cheek. Two more rags dunked into the water and wrung out loosely, leaving a lot of water still in them. The usually cheekiest member of the Marthui stood and took the bucket with him over to this new person.

"Jase?"

The purple irises were seen fleetingly as the youth wavered more towards the side of unconsciousness. They'd beaten him to a pulp and even though he should hate him for the danger he'd placed Jazira in, not to mention for solely being that man's son, Daknar couldn't bring himself to; he was in the exact same situation as this kid, only it was his wife's father that delighted in causing him bodily harm, not his own father.

"C'mon kid; you black out and you probably won't wake up again."

With an effort, Daknar managed to prop the teenager up against the rough stone wall of the cave-like cell, hissing as he managed to disturb the two or three broken ribs in his own chest, all the while Kirin and Jay looking on.

"Why're you helping me?"

The short string of words and groan of pain seemed to prove that Jase had come to a little, though his eyes were still highly unfocused. The shirt the youth had been wearing was torn and blood-stained, but it was still the cleanest shred of cloth in the cell by far, so Daknar grabbed a part that was already hanging off and pulled until it tore away from the main garment. He dunked the clean shred of shirt into the bucket and sighed as he answered the deceptive nineteen-year-old.

"Don't really know, but we're kinda in the one boat and I've got enough on my plate right now."

With an effort, Jase looked to where Jazira's uncle had indicated; over the man's shoulder, huddled on the other side of the cell and half-visible in the still-swinging light provided by the dim bulb above, two little boys could be seen. Jazira had showed her pictures of the two - sons of the Marthui leader, and yet their arms told different stories.

"Shit, they got branded …"

"Tell me about it; here - get what you can out of this; you're dehydrated."

He didn't know which one it was, but the twin had lifted one of his drooping eyelids and examined his unfocused eye, then placed a sopping rag in his mouth and started stemming the blood from the gash above his eye. This father being kept as a captive here, those two boys being tattooed at such a young age - it was all the fault of his father, and he had deceived them all to within an inch of their lives.

"I … I'm sorry."

"Look kid; it's not me you need to apologise to, not even Denian; just Jazira …"

* * *

He wondered how the FBI could actually make a cell _magic_-proof, but they'd managed too, and he'd put that to the test for the last five hours. Every single transportation spell he'd ever learned, Egyptian, Arabic and English; none proved powerful enough to break out of this concrete box. Props to the FBI for doing their homework on the magic aspect of things, just a pity they'd fucked up on their classwork; him, leading the Aralanti. Despite current situations, Denian still found a smile to curl his lips slightly at the sheer prospect. Bakura had seen fit to that a long time ago.

"_Your wife and boys were taken by Bakura after they escaped the ambush on your house._"

The young Tomkeeper's words had been going round and round his head for hours now. If he so much as laid a finger on Ishizu or the boys, then Ra above help the son of a bitch. But what would he do when they did come against each other? There wasn't much else to think about until that Tombkeeper girl, Keyla she'd called herself, came back; nothing but musing and reflecting.

He wondered how old that girl, Keyla was; she looked about early to mid-twenties, and for some reason it was bugging him, but he knew her light green eyes from somewhere.

Denian had no doubt Bakura would kill him on the spot for being a blood-traitor and initiating all of this. He sometimes wondered what would have happened if Kisara hadn't been sent to Japan, if they'd all stayed in the Clan - no Marthui. Kisara would have never become pregnant; she would have married Bakura and had his children, leading to the conclusion that the existence of Jase would have never been brought to light. No Marthui meant no blood feud. Seto and Mokuba would have been killed in a simple stealth mission, probably carried out by himself or one of the twins. Denian had to admit that life would have had its perks; no looking over his shoulder, no constant guarding of the Royal blood; only the Clan.

But there would have been no Ishizu, no Jay, and no Kirin. He would've never seen Kisara happy, like she was with Kaiba and Jazira, albeit for a painfully short time. He would've probably never married, either that or married some high-profile guy's only daughter into a Clan of murderers whose DNA prevented her ever having a little girl of her own; only strong boys.

Bakura wouldn't kill him when they came face-to-face at the end of this entire feud, just like Denian knew he wouldn't kill Bakura. Someone else would have to, and he already knew that, just hadn't decided who yet. Despite the evident detest the two leaders held for one another, one would find it hard to imagine they had once called themselves brothers. Very few within the Aralanti knew that Denian and Bakura were the same age, let alone that they had been best friends when only little boys. Bakura's parents had been killed when he was eight, leaving Kirej Hirotsh and his wife to look after the boy on the order of the leader Aknu. Already weakly related by blood, being cousins countless times removed, Kirej had instructed his eldest to treat the white-haired boy as a brother. Despite some initial teasing about the new kid's scar and come-backs that involved a few _abra-cadabra_ insults, the two got on fine, until Denian's parents had been killed when both were thirteen.

The Elders of the Clan had seen it fit to take the youngster for specialist training in magic and stealth, having already placed the young Denian on the intangible pedestal of talent he remained standing upon to this day. Jealousy was an evil thing, the way it crept up between the bonds of a friendship and started un-weaving those bonds. Then, when the two had been eighteen, it had come time to choose a new leader for the Aralanti, the Clan having operated sans leader since Aknu and Salari's breakaway with Kisara. Having reclaimed the only girl borne of the Clan's blood, the Elder's had approached Denian and proposed him as the new leader; a given, except for the fact that his twelve-year-old twin brothers were running rampant and causing all kinds of trouble for the Clan. Shocking many and highly insulting the Elders, Denian had turned down the leadership of the Clan, choosing to take care of his brothers instead. Second place had gone to Bakura and he'd become the leader of the Aralanti. From then on in, jealousy kept up its detrimental work until the two young men, former brother figures, couldn't even stand in the same room as one another. Bakura wanted to emphasize his role as leader, therein, he was higher and better than Denian, and yet nothing seemed to bother the other, until Bakura had requested to be married to Kisara - that had set the match to the kindling.

A loud clanging noise brought the father back to the present time, leaving the past where it belonged; the door was opened and there stood the same young woman, Keyla, albeit without her office-wear this time; the short sleeve of her top told it all, as did the long mousy locks that framed her light green eyes.

"You're Herani's little sister!"

A small flicker of a smile and pleading look informed Denian he was right in his assumption. Herani's parents had pretty much sold her to the Aralanti when she was twelve. Her father had been an army Lieutenant, but had died in one of the many offensives that plagued the Middle East. After that, her family's source of income had dried up and her mother and sister were brought into the folds of the Clan, and the tattoo on Keyla's arm said it all. He hadn't seen the girl since the breakaway of the Marthui over eighteen years ago.

"No time to explain, but I managed to get away from the Clan about three years ago and decided to see what the official reckoning of them was, so I made my here to the States. Um is still in the Clan, but she isn't married and didn't have anymore kids."

"Come with me."

"What?"

The green irises were staring at him with confusion, but Denian only smiled lightly as he finally managed to summon a portal, delighted he could use magic again.

"Come with me. You'll get in trouble with the suit-prick when he finds out you were on duty when I got out, so come."

He nodded towards the portal in a suggestive manner, to which the girl laughed lightly, shrugged and walked towards it. She'd gotten away from Egypt's answer to the Mob and Yakuza; the Marthui should be a breeze. As she stepped through the black mist, Denian sighed and cursed his damned bleeding heart; so maybe one stop before heading for Egypt.

**A/n-**** Well, thanks a million for taking the time to read my fic, as always uys and I really hope you enjoyed it! XxxxxxxxxxX**


	23. A Rendezvous

**Author's Note: **Hi guys!! Sorry about the wait - my laptop's broke and in town getting fixed so I don't know when I'll get it back, but I'm using my mam's old laptop instead. It's OLD, lol! Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter!!

* * *

Just coming up on fifteen months now, and full of mischief, though he was nothing compared to his cousins. Compared to Akha and Odion, Dahrej was the quietest child in the world; he definitely got that from Herani's side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Saheed nodded his head as Herani placed a light hand on his shoulder. The hospital had let him home late last night, only to be faced with the running of the Marthui remainders since Takhar had been taken, with Daknar and Denian completely off the radar and Ra above, it was hard work! It was no wonder everyone admired Denian so much; he was capable of fluently mobilizing the Marthui everyday to protect Jazira, to cover Seto and to carry out reconnaissance missions, and that was when the numbers had been in the two or three hundred margin … now there were only about sixty to seventy members left after the raids by the Aralanti. Even at that, it was near impossible to keep tabs on all the different teams running this way and that with information and tip-offs. He was exhausted and had only carried the burden of leader for a little over a day; Denian had been doing it for over eighteen years.

"The doctors said not to over-do it, Saheed."

"I'm fine … besides as soon as leader-without-a-clue gets his ass back here, he can have his fucking job back!"

The man draped an arm around his wife's shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Denian had called his mobile about an hour ago and gave instruction to get to the Kaiba Mansion; the Aralanti made the first move, now it was their turn. So traversed, to Seto's home they had, awaiting the arrival of the missing leader, who had stated he had a surprise for Herani aswell.

* * *

The heavy boxing-bag lay on the floor; its chain broken for the umpteenth time.

The young woman sighed as she walked slowly to it and sat down on the cylindrical bag raking a hand through her long hazel hair. The sun's meek arrival above the horizon wasn't due for another two to three hours, and yet the temperature in Egypt was still stifling. The shadows of dominant hills could be distinguished when looking out the window; something to be expected when one lived in such close proximity to The Valley of the Kings.

Breathing heavily, Kayreena Hirotsh gave the broken boxing-bag a spiteful kick; how was she supposed to fix it now? Normally Daknar did that for her. He'd been the one to suggest taking up some form of combat when she'd complained about feeling useless in the Marthui. Kick-boxing had ensued and so had many snapped chains and broken boxing-bags that regularly surrendered to her black belt.

_Marthui_ …

A word that now carried no meaning; the Aralanti had seen fit to that. She had no idea why she remained here; there was no protection placed around their house, and the Aralanti were still picking off members of the Marthui one by one. Through the proverbial grapevine, word had reached her ears of Takhar and many of the older members being ambushed, with Denian being taken by some idiotic agency at the same time. Saheed had been spared, most likely because the Aralanti still believed him to be in a coma. But her husband hadn't been home in almost two weeks now.

A slight turning of her stomach caused the young woman to groan slightly; she'd been plagued with morning sickness everyday, even in these early stages. That was another thing to worry about aswell; the baby. Another boisterous Hirotsh boy to deal with, and two five-year-olds aswell … Daknar had better be back to lend her a hand.

"Not feeling well, are we?"

At the sound of the familiar, belittling voice, Kayreena immediately rose to her feet and locked gazes with the stout man standing in the doorway, who was blocking her way out of the room and to her boys. He was balder and fatter since the last time she'd seen him, over eighteen years ago at this stage, but she no more wanted him near her, or her family; he had chosen his side of the fight those eighteen years ago.

"Get out of my house, now."

An unsettling sarcastic chuckle echoed around the room, accentuating the emptiness of the house. Runihura Sediki cast a glance over his shoulder and then looked back to the young woman before him. She'd grown a lot in the lifetime since the breakaway, but he still knew her as a mere girl. Kayreena was the only one of the girl's he thought of as his own daughter, for her mother had been pregnant upon being married into the Clan, and born into it. She'd been pretty since childhood, with dark hair and mischievous green eyes. Betrothed since birth to that trouble-maker who had pulled countless pranks upon himself and many other Elders, Kayreena had always seemed too good for that Daknar, but the two had become immediately inseparable.

"He's still alive, Kayreena-"

"No thanks to you, I'm sure."

She'd always been a lot more uncontrollable than her sisters and the other girls married into the Clan, and that trait was highly apparent at this moment. When Herani had been more or less purchased into the Aralanti and betrothed to Saheed, the two girls had become the best of friends, with Kayreena often looking out for her friend; Herani had always been soft-spoken and of gentle-nature, the opposite of most Aralanti wives, with Kayreena being the epitome; strong-willed, spirited and not easily intimidated.

"Bakura has arranged a new husband for you, and will pardon your boys if you-"

"I am not going back to the Clan, and I have a husband."

A small laugh was heard, unintentionally belittling as was the norm. This man was supposed to be her father and yet she'd never viewed him as such; Daknar's uncle, Takhar, had always been the only father-figure she'd had, and Kayreena was quiet happy to keep things that way.

"Your mother's ill; we don't expect her to see the end of the week. She heard about the twins and wants to see her grandsons before she meets Anubis."

Now it was the young mother's turn to laugh, scuffing her feet on the wooden floor; the floor across which both Odion and Akha had first learned to walk, and before that, the same floor Daknar had cursed numerous times as he, Saheed and Denian had laid it down, arguing with each other and swearing uncontrollably as she and Herani had settled the newborn twins into their nursery down the hall. There was no way the young woman would let these memories be obliterated by her estranged family.

"My mother disowned me, and she only gets to do that once; she will never see my boys."

"I thought you might say that; she only mentioned her grandsons, Kayreena."

The heavy fog of confusion rapidly lifted as two more people appeared behind her adoptive-father, walking up from the hall outside. Kayreena felt her breath hitch in her throat as her eyes fell on the men; Akha was held in the arms of one, with Odion in the other. Before she knew what she was doing, maternal instinct had taken over and the young woman had run forward, only for the trio to disappear in a black mist; her boys vanishing with them.

* * *

The wooden floor was covered in sand; the same wooden floor he'd helped Daknar lay down five years ago. Not only the chain was broken this time; the very bag was split, its contents covering the smooth floor. The woman was sitting on the floor beneath the only window in the room, not even noticing his arrival.

"Kayreena?"

The eyes that looked up weren't of the usual emerald steel; they were watered down to a broken look, and yet no tears fell for she wouldn't allow them to. Two seconds. That was all the time it took for Denian to comprehend what had happened; only one thing could make Kayreena so upset. Keyla remained in the room, hovering by the wall, unsure of what to do as the Marthui leader disappeared down the hall of this house and could be heard cursing as he reached one of the rooms. Damn it! The room was empty, with the duvet on each bed tossed and no sign of either twin.

She'd been sitting on this floor for the past hour, after killing the boxing-bag in a fit of rage. They had just walked in, kept her busy and swiped her boys in a matter of minutes. She'd always thought that the Aralanti had to kill and maim to ruin someone's life … now she knew different; all they'd had to do was waltz in and waltz out again. Kayreena blinked her way back to the present as she felt Denian gripping her shoulders and half-lifting her to her feet.

"I'll get them back, and Daknar. I promise … but we need to get you somewhere safe first."

With that, he steered her over towards the new girl who had been leaning against the wall, looking rather uneasy, and summoned one of the telltale misty black portals.

* * *

"Take this fucking job away from me!"

"Hey, watch it or I'll put you in another coma!"

Denian shouted this as he ducked a well-aimed shoe from Saheed and straightened up, threatening the twin. Despite the unusual welcome, it was overly-obvious how quiet the room seemed without Daknar to back-up Saheed and inject a few smart comments of his own.

"Keyla!"

In an instant, Herani had crossed the large living room and engaged her younger sister in a tight hug, which was reciprocated in earnest as the two sisters finally met after eighteen years parted.

"You feel up for a fight?"

"Huh?"

"They took the twins aswell."

Upon Denian saying this, Saheed looked to Kayreena, who had arrived with him. She seemed liked she always did; composed and ready for action, only her eyes were different form the norm – they were shining, shining with tears. The list of reasons to kill Bakura just kept getting longer and longer, but taking little kids was low, even for that evil bastard.

"What the …"

One of the few remaining Marthui members spoke lowly as all eyes were drawn back to the centre of the room where another portal was materializing. Nobody else was due to rendezvous here; everyone left after the raids had already congregated at the Mansion. With a nod from Denian, the remaining men stood and took up strong stances, ready to take on whoever appeared whilst the women somewhat back-stepped away.

It couldn't be anyone who meant harm; the protection spells around the perimeter f the grounds had stood strong for eighteen years now, preventing anyone who wanted to harm Kisara or her child from entering the premises. Now that he remembered the initial spell, Denian reckoned it was time he updated it a little, before anyone found a loophole around the specifications … though it seemed a little too late for that as a number of people emerged from the portal, to an encore of shocked gazes.

Seto Kaiba was the only person that spoke in the stunned silence, recognizing the individual in an instant, with a mix of anger and relief; unsure of which he felt more.

"Jazira?"

The youth stepped out of view, hiding behind Marik's frame as her guilty voice could be heard.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

**A/n- Well, let me know what you think guys and thanks a million for taking the time to read my fic!! You know I love you for it!! XxxxxxxxxxxX**


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